A new study published Saturday suggests that women who drink two or more diet drinks a day may be at a greater risk of heart disease and even death, NBC News reported. Researchers at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinic found women who drank the beverages, were 30 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack or other cardiovascular “event,” and 50 percent more likely to die, than women who rarely drank the beverages. The American Beverage Association disputed the findings of the study. The findings are being presented at an American College of Cardiology conference in Washington, D.C. this weekend. “Our study suggests an association between higher diet drink consumption and mortality,” said Dr. Ankur Vyas, a cardiovascular disease expert who led the study. The study's findings don't suggest that diet drinks are the killers, but that women who drink artificially sweetened drinks may be trying to make up for unhealthy habits. Women who drank the most diet drinks were more likely to smoke, be overweight and have diabetes, said Vyas. The American Beverage Association, said, "It is impossible to attribute their cardiovascular health issues to their diet beverage intake," the group said of the women in the study. About one in five Americans consume diet drinks a day, according to federal survey data.
