A mother in Arizona is blaming energy drinks as the reason for her 16-year-old daughter’s fatal heart attack.
According to CNN, Lanna Hamann’s mother, Kris, got the devastating news that her daughter had died of a heart attack while vacationing in Rocky Point, Mexico.
On Saturday, the teenage girl told her friend’s father that she was not feeling well. She went into cardiac arrest that evening and died.
Her friends said that she had been drinking energy drinks to stay hydrated, instead of water while they on the beach. Her mother believes that the consumption of those drinks is what caused her death.
"Obviously, this is something that could have happened anywhere, whether she was in Mexico or whether she was here in Arizona playing softball," the teen’s mother said about the death of her only child.
“(Parents should) make sure they’re watching their kids. (Watch) what they’re drinking and (make sure) they’re drinking water instead of an energy drink,” she added.
Energy drinks have been the subject of such controversy before and questions have been raised about whether or not the beverages are linked to heart attacks.
A study done last year found that the popular drinks could significantly raise the rate of heart contractions within an hour of consumption.