Teen’s serious heart damage was detected only after this series of events

An energy drink, an irregular heartbeat, a devastating diagnosis of heart failure. This sequence of events played out last spring for Christina Colding-Criss, who at 14 was completely unaware of a serious heart condition that, left undetected, could have killed her.

Doctors believe a virus caused the congestive heart failure that’s unusual in one so young. And the caffeine-powered energy drink caused the irregular heartbeat that eventually prompted Colding-Criss to seek medical attention. Now she’s on medications at home in Lee’s Summit, Mo., awaiting a heart transplant.

This Fox 4 Kansas City TV report explains what happened: