A young woman who probably thought energy drinks would boost her to wellness learned her lesson the hard and painful way.
In an article written by Kirstie Mccrum of Mirror, it was disclosed that Charlotte Aston, 23, used to take in at least one energy drink a day. As a consequence, she now suffers from a life-threatening heart condition after she was diagnosed with Supraventricular Tachycardia — which is characterized by abnormal fast heartbeat. She was only 18 when she received the diagnosis.
“About three months after my 18th birthday, I was just sat at home relaxing when, without any warning, I suddenly collapsed. I sat on the floor and fell against the sofa. I was semi-conscious, but I think the shock of what was happening made me faint. I could feel and see my heart jumping out of my chest,” she shared.
Aston was diagnosed after two of years drinking energy drink on a daily basis while she was working part-time as a holiday park entertainer.
“The doctors went through my entire medical history and everything I ate and drank and concluded it was the energy drinks. It never occurred to me they would cause a problem. I felt fine and was definitely using up energy as an entertainer,” she said.
When her condition was at its worst, she would be taken to hospital by ambulance once a fortnight to get her heart rate back down.
“My ‘top score’ was 247 beats per minute. A normal heartbeat is 80 to 90bpm. It would happen if I sneezed, coughed, picked something off the floor, lifted something heavy, got up too quickly or got too stressed,” she shared. “What I went through was hell and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”
On the other hand, after all the sufferings that she experienced because of her condition, she still feels lucky to be alive; so she made it her mission to share her story and save other young people.
“A lot of children have energy drinks and although what happened to me won’t happen to everybody I want them to stop and think. The children react with disbelief and shock when I tell them what happened to me. Since I’ve shared my story nobody has brought an energy drink into the youth club,” she said.
Recently, she won the children and young people category of Devon Community Foundation’s Volunteer of the Year Awards for her efforts to raise awareness on the danger being brought by energy drinks.
“I’ve done school assemblies as well. It’s very rewarding and it feels great knowing that I’ve made a difference,” she stated.
At present, three years after she had surgery, she said she is “80 percent better.” She spends at least 10 hours a week volunteering for various groups.
“I felt like I needed to give something back to the community. The doctors said I shouldn’t really be working but volunteering is different because I can step away at any point if things get too much,” she said.
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