In fact, a new study found each additional daily cup of coffee associated with a 3 percent lower risk of developing arrhythmia.
Coffee has a bad reputation when it comes to heart health. There is a common notion that caffeine increases the risk of cardiac arrhythmia or abnormal heartbeat. Coffee lovers, don’t worry! Drinking a couple of daily cups of coffee may not affect your heart’s rhythm. After a four-year-long study, researchers at the University of California – San Francisco have concluded that they found no evidence that consumption of caffeinated beverages leads to a greater risk of cardiac arrhythmia.
In fact, each additional daily cup of coffee was associated with a 3 percent lower risk of any arrhythmia occurring, including atrial fibrillation, premature ventricular contractions, or other common heart conditions, they said. The study paper was recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
This study provides reassurance that common prohibitions against caffeine to reduce arrhythmia risk are likely unwarranted, noted senior and corresponding author Gregory Marcus, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology at UCSF, who specializes in the treatment of arrhythmias.
Caffeine could be protective against some arrhythmias
The study included some 386,258 coffee drinkers, with an average mean age of 56 years. After a mean four-year follow up, only about 4 percent of the sample developed an arrhythmia. No evidence of a heightened risk of arrhythmias was observed among those genetically predisposed to metabolize caffeine differently, the authors said.
On the contrary, the UCSF scientists found higher amounts of coffee associated with a 3 percent reduced risk of developing an arrhythmia. Marcus suggested that coffee’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and some properties of caffeine could be protective against some arrhythmias. But he noted that only a randomized clinical trial can definitively demonstrate clear effects of coffee or caffeine consumption.
Several studies have shown that association between coffee consumption and reduced risks of some illnesses including cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson disease.
What Causes Arrhythmia? Signs And Symptoms To Watch Out For
Heart arrhythmias occur when the electrical signals that coordinate your heartbeat don’t work correctly, causing your heart to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly.
An arrhythmia can be caused or triggered by certain conditions including:
- Heart attack
- Blocked arteries in your heart (coronary artery disease)
- High blood pressure
- Thyroid disorders (both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism)
- Diabetes
- Sleep apnea
- Infection with COVID-19
When the condition that is inherited, it is known as a familial arrhythmia.
Smoking, drinking too much alcohol or caffeine, drug abuse, certain medications and supplements, stress or anxiety can also increase your risk of developing an arrhythmia
An arrhythmia may be “silent” means it may not cause any signs or symptoms. Your doctor may detect the problem before you do, during a routine examination. However, noticeable arrhythmia symptoms may include fluttering in your chest, racing heartbeat (tachycardia), slow heartbeat (bradycardia), chest pain and shortness of breath.
Anxiety, fatigue, lightheadedness or dizziness, sweating, fainting or near fainting are other possible symptoms.
In case you experience any of these signs and symptoms, suddenly or frequently, particularly at a time when you wouldn’t expect to feel them, see a doctor immediately.
Watch this video to know more about this condition from Dr. Nityanand Tripathi, Director, Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, Cardiac Sciences; Interventional Cardiology.
This post first appeared on The Health Site
