I'm inclined to go against the grain and say that the alcohol-and-energy-drink combo causing heart attacks is more urban legend and "the dangers of sugar+caffeine", i.e. soda, than anything particular to energy drinks. Red Bull, and other energy drinks, are essentially an extra-caffeinated soda with taurine and B-vitamins. Still less caffeine than a cup of coffee at that.

So ya, it'd be healthier to stay away from 5 shots of vodka and 5 sodas at once. Nothing too particular about energy drinks that make you overdo caffeine+sugar+alcohol.

My first memory of Red Bull was in game advertising in the PS1 game WipeoutXL. As a teenager living in Panama at the time I had no idea what it was, I thought it was a made-up product just for the game. Looking back they were way ahead of their time even then.

Similar experience here, I first came across the Red Bull advertising in Wipeout 2 on the PS1 in New Zealand. I don’t think you could even buy it here at the time.

I discovered it in après-ski bars of Kitzbühel, where it was given away liberally with shots of vodka (almost for free). It was hard to refuse it, as alcohol/socialising costs accounted for a significant budget of a skiing holiday.