In March, Zach Doran, 18, a healthy Oklahoma high schooler, went to the gym for sparring practice, as he had countless times before.
At some point in his session, the MMA fighter had a heart attack. Attempts to revive him at the gym were unsuccessful.
He was placed on life support. Ten days later, he died.
Zach’s girlfriend, Libby Gilmore, has since shared what she thinks may have led the healthy young man to have such a shocking accident – energy drinks.
Zach Doran, 18, was passionate about mixed martial arts and also played on his high school football team. He passed away while on life support on March 13, his girlfriend shared in a Facebook post
Ms Gilmore said her late boyfriend had been in the habit of using both pre-workout – a stimulant powder added to water to get a boost for exercise – and energy drinks before going to the gym.
‘[H]e was the healthiest person that I knew in my life and I can say confidently that he was the healthiest person in the majority of people’s lives he was apart of,’ Ms Gilmore said in a June Facebook post.
She added: ‘Because he was so healthy and fit i never really thought much of it. although knowing the dangers of energy drinks and how they can cause heart problems I never thought Zach would be a part of this.’
Energy drinks generally contain caffeine, sugar and other stimulants like taurine.
In 2011, nearly 1,500 teenagers went to the emergency room for conditions caused by energy drinks, including dehydration, anxiety and heart complications, according to the CDC.
It is unclear what brand of energy drink Mr Doran favored. Health organizations caution against having any 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 catch-all term for powders, pills or drinks taken before a workout – they generally contain caffeine, beta-alanine, creatine, sugar, nitric oxide and B vitamins.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, these ingredients act as stimulants and as fuel for muscles, purportedly to help with recovery and energy.
Some brands of pre-workouts contain a lot of these ingredients. They average between 150 mg to 300 mg of caffeine.
There haven’t been many reports of pre-workout products leading to heart problems, but the National Capital Poison Center wrote that they have the potential to cause heart attacks.
Both energy drinks and pre-workout can therefore change how your heart cells function, leading to an irregular or fast heart rate and high blood pressure, according to UC Davis Health. This can increase your risk of developing heart disease.
Generally speaking, consuming the recommended serving size of either product shouldn’t be harmful. But if you use them in combination, or above the recommended serving size, it increases your likelihood of developing severe side effects.
It can also exacerbate underlying heart problems that an individual might not know they have – like heart arrhythmias.
‘[A]ll I want to do is show how harmful these drinks and ingredients can be and it’s not to be taken lightly’ Ms Gilmore said.
Zach’s father, Jason Doran, a football coach, responded to Ms Gilmore’s post to clarify that they don’t know if energy drinks caused their son’s heart attack.
‘Just to be very clear on a few things. First we don’t know that exact cause of Zach’s heart attack. I am sure pre-workout and energy drinks didn’t help but we don’t have an exact answer,’ Mr Doran said.
Jason and Tami Doran kneeling in front of Zach’s casket at his funeral
He then took an opportunity to raise awareness about proper CPR administration, highlighting the family’s push to make automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) standard in every gym in the state.
AEDs are a portable device that can provide life saving care when someone is in cardiac arrest – using an electrical pulse to restore a normal heart rate.
Every minute a normal heart beat isn’t restored, someone’s risk of dying from a heart attack increases seven to ten percent, according to the American Heart Association.
Since Zach passed away when he was 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 digit held great significance to the young man as a symbol of Christianity. He is remembered by countless in the community, his father said.
Mr Doran told Fox25 that his son: ‘impacted my life. He taught me how to be a better coach, he taught me how to be a better dad, he taught me how you should treat people, how to accept love from other people, you’re just proud of him man .’
