Diet drinks up risk of heart attack

ONE can of diet soft drink a day can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes by more than 40 per cent, according to new research.

Scientists warn that diet soft drinks could be less healthy than previously thought and may even increase the risk of some illnesses more than regular “full fat” fizzy drinks.

Diet drinks, usually made with artificial sweeteners, are lower in calories than alternatives made with real sugar.

Scientists warn that their long-term impact on health is still unknown, with research claiming they could increase the risk of “vascular events”, such as potentially deadly heart attacks and strokes.

US researchers analysed medical records of more than 2,500 people to try and establish a connection between soft drinks and vascular events.

Results, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, revealed that people who drank diet soft drinks every day were 43 per cent more likely to have suffered a vascular event than others who drank none.

People who drank sugar-sweetened soft drinks instead were at no greater risk of suffering from the same illnesses.