Wang said he and his colleagues became aware of the health risks of artificially sweetened beverages. Research is somewhat lackingwhere they classified sweet drinks into three categories.

The first category is beverages with added sugars, such as white sugar, sucrose, and fructose syrup, typically found in non-diet sodas and fruit juice blends.

The second category was freshly squeezed fruit juices with no added sugar. Limiting your intake of natural fruit juices may be beneficial. Wang pointed out that consuming less than 1 liter per week not only provides vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, but is also associated with an 8 percent reduced risk of atrial fibrillation. However, researchers found that consuming more than 1 liter of these drinks per week was not protective.

The third category of beverages are those made with artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame, and acesulfame, and although these products are sweet, they are popular because they generally have limited calories. However, the synthetic compounds in these artificial sweeteners are not without risks.

Wang cautioned that the study found a correlation, but not causation. That said, the findings strongly suggest that limiting sugary beverage consumption is a wise choice.

“We encourage people to be mindful of their behavior patterns,” Wang said. “Early detection of risk factors such as unhealthy diet and proactive measures can effectively reduce the burden of future disease.”

“Based on our research, we once again advise people to reduce or avoid their intake of sugary and artificially sweetened beverages wherever possible,” he said. “It’s important not to assume that low-calorie, artificially sweetened beverages are inherently healthy, as they also come with potential health risks.”

This new finding is consistent with the American Heart Association’s (AHA) position. guidelines It is recommended that you limit your intake of sugary drinks.

This is an important reminder that managing risk factors is important, especially as the risk of atrial fibrillation (A-fib) increases with age.

Nikhil Warrior, a cardiac electrophysiologist and medical director of electrophysiology at MemorialCare Cardiovascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in California, who was not involved in the new study, said: . Today’s medical news About 2% of people under 65 have A-fib, compared to about 9% of people over 65.

“The most common symptom associated with atrial fibrillation is fatigue,” Warrior explained. “Patients may also complain of palpitations and rapid or irregular heartbeats. Shortness of breath may manifest with increased heart rate and congestive insufficiency, which may also be related to her A-fib. .”

Any condition that affects the function of the heart can be potentially serious, and atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk of stroke. Heart failure and atrial fibrillation are also closely related.

Although some risk factors can be reduced with anticoagulants, A-fib is a condition that often goes unnoticed and untreated.

“Because atrial fibrillation is paroxysmal and often asymptomatic, it may not be detected by traditional monitoring techniques and may require long-term rhythm monitoring,” Warrior said. .

“Treatment is tailored to the individual patient and usually depends on how long the A-fib has been present, how bothersome the symptoms are, and the underlying cause of the A-fib,” he continued. “Typically, there are three treatment goals: address stroke risk with blood-thinning drugs and prevent blood clots; determine rhythm and rate control strategies that can be addressed with medications and invasive options; and making healthy lifestyle changes to manage risk factors.”

“Bottom line: Atrial fibrillation is a heart rhythm disorder that requires treatment whether or not you have symptoms,” Warrior says.