If you love sweet beverages, you might be at higher risk for atrial fibrillation (A-fib), an irregular heart rhythm associated with stroke and heart failure.
According to Health.com, researchers at China's Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine found that people who consumed at least two liters of sugar-sweetened beverages each week were 10 percent more likely to develop A-fib. Those who consumed beverages made with the artificial sweeteners sucralose (Splenda) or aspartame were at 20 percent higher risk of developing A-fib.
Ample evidence connects sugar-sweetened beverages to cardiovascular disease risk, but the effect of artificial sweeteners is not as well-studied, said Dr. Penny M. Kris Etherton of the American Heart Association (AHA) in a press release. According to the AHA, this is the first study to link low or no-calorie sweeteners to A-fib risk.
Researchers and heart experts caution that it's too soon to assume a direct link between sweeteners and A-fib. Other factors, including diet and health conditions like sleep apnea and diabetes, also heavily influence A-fib risk.
