Death By Red Bull
Well, almost.
Australian Matthew Penbross’s heart stopped after consuming 8 Red Bulls within 5 hours. Fortunately ambulance officers (paramedics) were able to revive him with a defibrillator.
Penbross (aged 28) was in good health, with no history of heart disease, and regularly consumed 4 Red Bulls per day.
8 cans of Red bull amounts to 640mg of caffeine. A read of the article makes it appear that Penbross was not big on eating properly – so I wonder if he had this on an almost empty stomach.
Penbross was competing in a Motocross event at the time, so I imagine his adrenalin must have been through the roof.
These kind of stories are very concerning – given that we now have drinks with substantially more caffeine that Red Bull. It’s time for some folks to rein in the caffeine overdosing. 8 Red Bulls is ridiculous (and expensive) – and by my calculations, this would also mean Penbross downed 216 grams of sugar (that’s more than a whole cup of pure white sugar).
Don’t forget all the Taurine either… Red Bull has 1000mg per can. Taurine is something we have little data on.
49 Comments
Taurine is the same caffeine, read the books, stupid kid
KG- I think you mean guarana. Taurine is an amino acid.
Ok, Listen up. BUYER BEWARE!
THE INGREDIANTS ARE RIGHT ON THE CAN/BOTTLE. IT TELLS YOU HOW MUCH CAFFEINE IS IN IT. IT IS THE BUYERS JOB TO MAKE SURE IT IS SAFE TO DRINK. EVERYTHING EFFECTS EVERYONE DIFFERENTLY. RED BULL DOES NOT KILL PEOPLE.
READ THE LABEL. THATS YOUR JOB.
RED BULLS JOB: MAKE A SATISFYING PRODUCT THAT MAKES THE CUSTOMERS HAPPY, AND GIVE THEM WINGS.
READ LABELS, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR, IF YOU HAVE A HEART CONDITION MAYBE ITS NOT SAFE TO DRINK THIS.
AGAIN, BUYER BEWARE.
I don’t see why everyone is so scared. I just treat Red Bull as I would a cup of coffee. I would never drink 5 cups of coffee in a couple of hours. Not only would I be all jacked up but it would also tear up my stomach. I drink 1 Red Bull in the morning and 1 after lunch, just like I had been drinking coffee and it’s been just fine…. a nice boost with no bad effects (for me anyway).
I am an Army officer in command of about 80 soliders. 2 days ago, I was awoken by a phone call that one of my soldiers was in the hospital. He’d collapsed within an hour of finishing a 3 mile march. CPR was performed and medics tried to defribulate on the scene without response. Apparently he’d been down for while before anyone found him. He’s currently in ICU on life support in a medically induced coma with “very little brain activity.”
Following the incident, we found that the soldier had been drinking large quanties of Red Bull. Apparetnly, he’d consumed at least 3 of the large cans the night before our training and at least one report stated that he’d been up for about 36 hours and was using the drink to keep going without our knowledge. Following the march, he purchased 2-3 more cans of Red Bull and was found in his girlfriend’s driveway unconcious and convulsent. He’s 24 years old, was in great shape, and no known medical history.
While I can’t say for certain what caused this, the fact that he combined strenuous physical activity with significant consumption of the drink certainly seems to be a factor.
All I know is that yesterday I had to sit with a grieving mother and try to explain the process of death benefits and gratuity in the likely event he does not recover.
red bull does lead to long term heart conditions. it is a fact. look it up. and for all these people saying they dont have heart conditions, im sure none of them have been tested by a DOCTOR.
are u serious!!!! i onli came on here coz l8ly i hva bin drinkin red bull no mre dan one or 2 a day!!!for the past week and herd bout that bloke who almost died frm drinking it! buh omg nowonder ppl are gettin ill drinkin 8 or 9 in 5 hours:O thas jst greedy if u ask me!! and if ther gonna start puttin on warning labels then they shud put it on all things with caffeine!!!! and personally i dnt find wen i drink red bull that it makes me hav ne mre energy then i did befor i drink it!!! and i find that with all energy drinks!!! the onli reason i drink it is because i like the taste! my advice is STOP BEING SOOO GREEDY!!
sometimes i freak out thinking im gona die. this made me feel better cause wow 8 red bulls. i drank half of red bull cola and a regular red bull
These things vary from person to person, and because of this, you can’t be sure who will suffer badly from it and who will resist it well until it actually happens.
The irregular heartbeat is definitely a sign you should back off because that means something is interfering with your brain’s nervous signals, which should never happen.
But yea, I agree with Levi. It’s for the bulls. If you’re a bunny rabbit, you should be careful because you just might be the next headline maker.