Yahoo News Father hospitalised after ‘can of energy drink caused his heart-rate to surge to dangerous level’
A father says he had a “scary” reaction to an energy drink, which he claims sped up his heartbeat to 190 beats per minute.
Simon Lewis, 48, reported that his heartbeat rocketed just minutes after he finished a can of Monster on Saturday night.
He said his heart began hammering and skipping beats, and he began to sweat and feel "clammy".
Mr Lewis, a butcher, called an ambulance and was rushed to Yeovil Hospital, Somerset, where his heart was found to be racing at 190 beats per minute. A standard adult resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute.
Medics apparently told Mr Lewis that his heart had been put under the same strain as an endurance athlete who had run non-stop for nine hours.
He now believes the government should raise the legal age limit on energy drinks from 16 to 18 - and do more to warn people of the potential dangers.
Mr Lewis, from Wincanton, Somerset, said: "It's very scary, because apparently it was the caffeine going through my system that caused it.
"I'm quite fit and healthy so it was a shock to have this happen.
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"I thought that the caffeine levels in a can of Monster would be equivalent to a bottle of coke, but it's more than three times that amount.
"The laws on them should be the same as the laws on alcohol. I won't touch one again, and my daughter is now banned from having them."
The government announced plans to ban the sale of energy drinks to under-16s in July, but Mr Lewis feels that authorities should go further.
He called for more to be done to make people aware of the risks energy drinks pose, and wants the law to be tightened to prevent children from being able to buy them.
He added: "I'm going to speak to my MP about it. The trouble is whether the government will do anything about it.
"If drinking one is going to cause that sort of reaction, then it's scary to think how many people are not aware of the dangers of them.”
Yahoo News UK has contacted Monster Beverages for a comment.
