Is Briatney Portillo OK? OnlyFans star has heart attack after TikTok dry scooping challenge
A 20-year-old stripper and star on OnlyFans, Briatney Portillo, suffered from a heart attack after she followed a TikTok trend. Paramedics couldn't figure out that she was experiencing a cardiac arrest when she collapsed in April after taking on this dangerous TikTok challenge.
Speaking of the TikTok challenge, she said, "I never thought something like this would ever happen to me. Especially because I’m so young." She also recalled what the EMTs told her and said, "The cops and EMTs were like, ‘Maybe it’s just anxiety because you’re about to dance."
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What is TikTok's dry scooping challenge?
The TikTok challenge that Portillo tried is called the "dry scooping" challenge. Those who want to do this TikTok challenge are directed to ingest a scoop of dry and undiluted supplemental energy powder.
Portillo had reportedly watched fitness experts go through this trend, where they would have heaped tablespoons of pre-workout supplements, and decided to give it a try. The pre-workout powder is a caffeine-laced substance that is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Sometimes referred to simply as "pre-workouts", these multi-ingredient dietary formulas, designed to boost energy and athletic performance, are something athletes also mix in water and drink before they work out to increase their endurance and focus.
The first responders to the scene assumed Portillo was merely experiencing anxiety, rather than having a heart attack, because she had to perform soon and strip in front of strangers. However, Portillo said "But I don’t have anxiety about dancing,” and added, “At the time, I wasn’t sure what my body was going through but I knew something was way off.”
Portillo explained, "A lot of body builders on TikTok were doing it and I thought, ‘If they can do it, so can I'." Portillo also mentioned that she did not do it for popularity but just to purely gain energy before her workouts. She said, “It wasn’t for clout," and added, "I didn’t even record myself doing it. I just wanted [the] energy to work out.”
It was a male friend at her gym who had given her a scoop of Redcon1’s Total War pre-workout powder, and as soon as she stuffed it down her throat, Portillo says she regretted doing it without water. She recalled, "Right away I felt like I was suffocating. I couldn’t breathe.”
George Fernaine, chief of cardiology at NYU Langone—Brooklyn was quoted by New York Post as saying, "That’s just about the equivalent of drinking four cups of regular coffee all at once." He added, “That acute, large intake of caffeine mixed with an activity that stresses the heart, like exercise, could be very dangerous.”
Speaking of the aftereffects, Portillo said "I was coughing a lot,” and added, “I started chugging some water but my throat was just extremely dry and my gums were burning.” After the choking episode ended, Portillo moved on to work out, and during this time she did several reps of the deadlift, squats, and hip thrusts with 60-pound weights.
She also said that she did not experience increased energy or strength. Instead, she said, “my whole body started itching, I started sweating profusely and I felt nauseous.”
She tried to shake it all off, but hours later when she was set to take the stage at the club where she worked as a stripper, Portillo said she experienced chest pains. She said, "My chest felt very tight and heavy, I started sweating a lot again and the whole left side of my body hurt so bad." She was rushed to the hospital where blood tests and EKG were conducted and it was found that Portillo had suffered an NSTEMI heart attack.
It was also revealed that the cause of this minor cardiac episode was due to caffeine overdose. Portillo said, “I called my mom and she was freaking out more than me,” and added, “I just felt so stupid for doing that dumb challenge and ending up in a hospital bed.” She received a heparin drip to thin her blood and was kept in the hospital overnight.
After this traumatic experience, Portillo said “Do not do what you see other people doing on TikTok thinking it will make you cool," and added, “It’s not worth risking your health or your life.”