Woman Drinks Only Soda for 16 Years, Suffers Heart Problems

By Rachael Rettner, LiveScience Senior Writer

    A 31-year old woman's heart problems and fainting might have had something to do with the fact that she drank only soda for about half her life, according to a report of her case.

The woman, who lives in Monaco, a small country near southern France, was brought to a hospital after she fainted. A blood test showed she had severely low potassium levels. And a test of her heart's electrical activity revealed she had a condition called long QT syndrome, which can cause erratic heart beats.

The woman did not have a family history of heart or hormone problems. But she told her doctors that, since the age of 15, she had not drunk any water — soda (specifically cola) was the only liquid she consumed. She drank about 2 liters (2 quarts) of cola daily, she said.

After abstaining from soda for just one week, the woman's potassium levels and heart electrical activity returned to normal.

Drinking too much cola may cause excess water to enter the bowels, which in turn leads to diarrhea, and loss of potassium, the researchers said. High amounts of caffeine can also increase urine production and decrease potassium reabsorption, the researchers said. Potassium plays a role in helping a person's heartbeat, and low levels of potassium may cause heart rhythm problems.

After searching for other similar cases, the researchers found six reports of excessive cola consumption that were thought to be related to adverse medical problems, including heart rhythm problems.

"One of the take-home messages is that cardiologists need to be aware of the connection between cola consumption and potassium loss, and should ask patients found to have QT prolongation about beverage habits," said study researcher Dr. Naima Zarqane, of Princess Grace Hospital Centre in Monaco.

Future studies should examine whether those who drink cola excessively have lower potassium levels than people who don't drink cola, the researchers said.

Excessive soda consumption can also lead to weight gain, which is a risk factor for heart disease, the researchers said.

The case report was presented this week at the European Heart Rhythm Association meeting in Athens, Greece. It has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

British fisherman lands a 115-pound ‘UK Monster’

by David Strege

A British man hooked the biggest fish of his life—a fish said to probably be the most well-known catfish in England—and then needed an extra pair of hands to drag it onto shore after his son managed to get the behemoth into the net.

Rodney Hills, his son, and a fellow fisherman from their group lifted the massive wels catfish onto the shore of Oakwood Lake in Norfolk, U.K., and weighed it with a digital scale hanging from a tri-pod. The fish went a whopping 114 pounds, 11 ounces.

“It was hard work getting it in,” Hills, 67, told the Bucks Free Press. “It was quite a struggle.”

It took Hills 30 minutes to reel the fish to shore on 40-pound-test braided line. His son Adrian, using the biggest catfish net on the market, netted the massive wels catfish and immediately recognized the obvious.

“Once we had got it in the net, Adrian said to me you better go and wake someone else up, as we are going to have trouble getting this out of the water,” Hills told the Bucks Free Press.

Hills summoned another member of their fishing party from a nearby tent. The 10 fishermen from the Catfish Conservation Group spent the night camped out on the shoreline, fortunately allowing for additional help.

While they were weighing and photographing the fish, they noticed a distinguishing mark near its dorsal fin. It was a circular scar made famous in the U.K. by a DVD called “UK Monsters” filmed by Mick Brown, who had caught the same catfish and nicknamed it The Duke, since that is Brown’s moniker.

And as Brown did before him, Hills released the fish so it can fight again.

Hills informed GrindTV Outdoor in an email that the biggest fish he ever landed previously was a 33-pound carp. He also indicated that this wels catfish he caught and released has good taste.

The bait it fell for was a chunk of Matteson’s Smoked Pork Sausage.

Photos courtesy of Rodney Hills. 

source yahoo.com