The latest TikTok trend taking off put one user in the hospital for a heart attack. The culprit? “Dry scooping,” or eating a scoop of pre-workout powder — without water.
20-year-old Briatney Portillo is urging others to be careful when partaking in the trend.
“Taking a dry pre-workout scoop because I saw it trending on TikTok,” one of her videos starts, only to end with a nightmare scenerio: “Ending up in the hospital because I had a heart attack.”
Portillo revealed that she first noticed a sensation of heaviness in her chest. And later on, while getting ready for work, her left arm went limp. And after rushing to the hospital, the medical staff informed Portillo that she suffered an NSTEMI, a type of heart attack.
While dry-scooping is not anything new — thanks to the invention that is TikTok — it is making the rounds in front of impressionable teen’s eyes once more.
Pre-workout powder contains extremely high levels of caffeine, most often, double or triple the amount in a cup of coffee. Consuming a high level of caffeine in such a short amount of time can cause your blood pressure and heart rate to spike, putting undue stress on your heart.
In addition, swallowing dry powder poses a choking risk.
Other users were quick to send their support to Portillo, even sharing some of their own harrowing tales with the workout powder.
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One user commented: “My sister passed away last year at 39 from a heart attack from energy drinks. I’m def not judging anyone or telling them what to do but know the risks.”
While another said: “Doctor here: energy drinks and preworkout are a scam. Food with proteins works just as well for a prework smoothie and coffee > energy drink.”
Have you ever used pre-workout before? We would love to hear about your experience! Be sure to watch the full clip below: