‘Workout Queen,’ 28, Who Loved ‘the Buzz’ from Caffeinated Energy Drinks Has Heart Attack, Suffers Fatal Brain Damage 

Katie Donnell’s mother is speaking out about the dangers of energy drinks, calling them “harmful and deadly” in the wake of her daughter’s death

A 28-year-old “workout queen” who fueled her gym visits with caffeine supplements and energy drinks died of a heart attack — and her mother believes it’s because of the beverages. 

Katie Donnell, a teacher from Florida, would drink up to three energy drinks a day, along with coffee — and would take a caffeine supplement before hitting the gym, her mother, Lori Barranon, said, according to The Daily Mail.

“She thought it’d help her work out and give her more energy. She was working out, working full-time and going to school,” Barranon said. “I think she got used to the buzz.”

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In August 2021, Donnell was hanging out with friends when she suddenly collapsed.

“They thought she was having a stroke but she was actually having a heart attack,” Barranon told the outlet. “The ambulance got there and couldn’t intubate her. She was without oxygen for too long and it caused brain damage. They worked on her for three hours and she never woke up.”

Donnell was placed in a medically induced coma, but “her body started to fail,” her mother told the outlet, and after ten days, they made the “horrible” decision to turn off her life support machines.

Barranon shared that doctors originally thought her daughter had been spiked with a drug, because “At 28, you just don’t see people dropping dead of a heart attack.”

Barranon said she didn’t realize how many energy drinks her daughter was consuming until after her death. “Her boyfriend said she would buy a four-pack [of energy drinks] every two to three days. Not to mention she was drinking a lot of coffee.”

She continued, “One of her friends said she’d hardly see Katie without an energy drink in her hands. When I cleaned out her car after she passed it was full of cans, at least three or four in there.”

Caffeine can impact the heart, the National Library of Medicine says. “Caffeine’s effect in acutely raising the blood pressure is … thought to stress the cardiovascular system, furthering the likelihood of it causing arrhythmia [abnormal heart rate].”

Although the brand Donnell drank wasn’t identified, some energy drinks can contain up to 200 mg. of caffeine per can. Up to 400 mg. of caffeine a day is considered “safe,” the Mayo Clinic says.

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“[Donnell] was a workout queen, she ate real clean, she ate organic food, she was the epitome of health,” Barranon said, sharing that her daughter did have “horrible anxiety” — which she attributed to her caffeine consumption.

“I know for a fact that was what was wrong with her,” said Barranon, who is sharing her story to warn others about the dangers of energy drinks — which she thinks should be banned.

“If you don’t keep your kids away from this stuff you may be in my situation where your life is ruined. It’s so harmful and deadly, my whole family is affected by this. I beg people to counsel your kids and watch what they’re doing, I thought I was,” she said. “I tell everybody I see with energy drinks that this is what it can do in the blink of an eye.”