In March, Zach Doran, 18, a healthy high school student from Oklahoma, went to the gym to spar, as he had done countless times before.
At some point during his session, the MMA fighter suffered a heart attack. Attempts to revive him in the gym were unsuccessful.
He was put on life support and died ten days later.
Zach’s girlfriend, Libby Gilmore, has since shared what she believes may have led to the healthy young man having such a shocking accident: energy drinks.
Zach Doran, 18, was an avid mixed martial arts fan who also played on his high school football team. He died while on a ventilator on March 13, his girlfriend shared in a Facebook post.
Ms Gilmore said her late boyfriend had a habit of using pre-workout (a stimulant powder added to water to get a boost for exercise) and energy drinks before going to the gym.
“He was the healthiest person I ever met in my life and I can confidently say he was the healthiest person in most people’s lives he was part of,” Gilmore said in a Facebook post in June.
She added: “Because he was so healthy and fit, I never thought much about it. Although knowing the dangers of energy drinks and how they can cause heart problems, I never thought Zach would be a part of it.”
Energy drinks typically contain caffeine, sugar and other stimulants such as taurine.
In 2011, nearly 1,500 teenagers went to emergency rooms for conditions caused by energy drinks, including dehydration, anxiety and heart complications. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It is not clear which brand of energy drink Doran preferred. Health organizations warn against taking more than 400 mg of caffeine per day.
That would be like consuming more than two Celsius, four and a half Monsters or four Red Bulls.
Pre-workout is a general term for powders, pills, or drinks taken before a workout; they typically contain caffeine, beta-alanine, creatine, sugar, nitric oxide, and B vitamins.
According The Cleveland ClinicitThese ingredients act as stimulants and fuel for the muscles, supposedly to help with recovery and energy.
Some brands of pre-workout supplements contain a high amount of these ingredients. They usually contain between 150 mg and 300 mg of caffeine.
There haven’t been many reports of pre-workout products causing heart problems, but National Poison Center of the Capitalr wrote that they have the potential to cause heart attacks.
Therefore, both energy drinks and pre-workout supplements can change the way heart cells function, leading to irregular or rapid heart rate and high blood pressure. According to UC Davis HealthThis can increase the risk of developing heart disease.
Generally speaking, taking the recommended dosage of either product should not be harmful. However, if you use them in combination or in doses higher than recommended, the likelihood of developing serious side effects increases.
It can also exacerbate underlying heart problems that a person might not know they have, such as cardiac arrhythmias.
“I just want to show how harmful these drinks and ingredients can be, and it’s not something that should be taken lightly,” Gilmore said.
Zach’s father, Jason Doran, a football coach, responded to Ms Gilmore’s post to clarify that they do not know if energy drinks caused his son’s heart attack.
“I want to make a few things clear. First, we don’t know the exact cause of Zach’s heart attack. I’m sure the pre-workout supplements and energy drinks didn’t help, but we don’t have an exact answer,” Doran said.
Jason and Tami Doran kneeling in front of Zach’s casket at his funeral.
He then took the opportunity to raise awareness about proper CPR administration, highlighting the family’s effort to make automated external defibrillators (AEDs) standard in all gyms in the state.
AEDs are portable devices that can provide life-saving care when someone is in cardiac arrest, using an electrical pulse to restore a normal heart rate.
Every minute that the normal heart rhythm is not restored, the risk of dying from a heart attack increases by seven to ten percent, according to the American Heart Association.
Since Zach passed away while on life support, he was able to donate seven of his organs to people in need.
Seven was also his number on the football team and his family has said the number had great meaning for the youngster as a symbol of Christianity. His father said he is remembered by countless people in the community.
Mr. Doran told Fox25 that his son: ‘He impacted my life. He taught me how to be a better coach, he taught me how to be a better father, he taught me how to treat people, how to accept love from other people, you’re proud of him, man.’