Men who drink two or more glasses of sweetened drinks every day may have an increased risk of suffering heart failure, a new study suggests.

Heart failure is a potentially life-threatening condition which leads to the heart being unable to pump enough blood around the body. Symptoms include tiredness, shortness of breath, dizziness and swollen ankles and around 10,000 new cases are diagnosed in Ireland every year.

Sweetened drinks have become increasingly popular worldwide in recent decades, but they have been linked with a number of heath issues, such as changes in blood pressure, changes in insulin levels and weight gain, all of which can increase the risk of conditions, such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Swedish researchers decided to investigate any potential links between sweetened drinks and heart failure. They monitored the health of over 42,000 men between 1998 and 2010.

The men were aged between 45 and 79 at the beginning of the study. All were asked to record their average consumption of almost 100 food and drink items over the previous year, including their consumption of standard servings of sweetened drinks per day and per week.

A standard serving was considered 200ml or one glass.

Fruit juices were not included, however all other sweetened drinks were, irrespective of what type of sweetener was used, i.e. sugar, fructose/glucose or artificial sweetener.

During the study period, over 3,600 new cases of heart failure were diagnosed and 509 people died of the condition.

The study found that after taking into account other potential risk factors, men who consumed at least two servings of sweetened drinks per day had a 23% increased risk of developing heart failure compared to men who did not consume these drinks.

The researchers acknowledged that the study only involved older men so the findings may not apply to younger people or women. Their results are published in the journal, Heart.

However, in an accompanying editorial, experts point out that ‘the well known association of sweetened beverages with obesity and type 2 diabetes, which are risk factors for heart failure, reinforces the biological plausibility of (the study) findings'.

"Based on their results, the best message for a preventive strategy would be to recommend an occasional consumption of sweetened beverages or to avoid them altogether," they added.