Research links diet soda to heart attack, stroke risk
Posted February 19, 2012 11:48 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Diet soda may be good for the waistline, but a new study suggests people who drink it every day have a higher risk of heart attack and stroke.
Researchers at the University of Miami followed almost 2,600 adults for a decade and found those who drank diet pop every day were 44 per cent more likely than non-drinkers to suffer a heart attack or stroke.
Lead researcher Hannah Gardener stressed that the findings don’t prove sugar-free drinks are actually to blame, saying there only appeared to be an association.
Gardener added that those people who drink diet soda daily generally lived a less healthy lifestyle overall.
The findings build on recent studies that found diet soda drinkers are more likely to have cardiovascular risk factors like high blood pressure or high blood sugar.
The study was published in the International Journal of General Medicine.
