There has been study after study warning consumers that diet sodas and, more specifically, the sugar replacements that they use, are not good for us.

Thus far, the warnings have dealt largely with things like memory loss and other neurological complications.

Now, scientists are warning drinkers could be risking their heart health, too.

This new research is published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, and suggests a link between dangerously irregular heartbeats and drinking significant amounts of diet soda.

Atrial fibrillation, or a-fib, is the medical term for a group of conditions that include irregular heartbeats, heart palpitations, fatigue, dizziness, and shortness of breath.

The research took place at Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital. They combed through a database of more than 200,000 patients and found that those who drank more than 2 liters of diet drinks a week were 20% more likely to develop a-fib that those who didn’t drink any soda at all.

They were 10% more likely to develop a-fib than those who drank regular soda.

Patients who drank only unsweetened fruit or vegetable juice were actually at an 8% lower risk of developing irregular heartbeats than those who drank regular soda or sweetened juice.

PennyKris-Etherton, a nutritionist at Penn State, is curious.

“We still need more research on these beverages to confirm these findings and to fully understand all the health consequences on heart disease and other health conditions. In the meantime, water is the best choice, and, based on this study, no- and low-calorie sweetened beverages should be limited or avoided.”

The risks are significant enough for experts to say people should take them seriously.

No soda is idea, but if you’re going to drink it, sugar is less harmful than what they put in there instead.