Every
day, I get up and make myself a cup of coffee. I used to drink instant, moved
on to pods and then ultimately graduated to grinding my own. I drink about 2-3
cups during the day, sometimes more if I’ve been on call the night before.
As a
cardiologist, I’m asked nearly every week by a patient, friend or family member
if they can drink coffee:
“I’ve
had a heart attack. Can I ever have a cup of coffee again?”
“I know
my blood pressure is up a little bit today, but I had a cup of coffee this
morning.”
“I’ve
been having palpitations. Should I switch to decaf?”
The
reality is that there’s very little data to suggest that coffee, even in
moderate quantities, is bad for us. In fact, multiple recent studies have
suggested just the opposite — good news for us daily coffee drinkers. The
reason for these beneficial findings is not well established. It’s been
speculated that antioxidants in coffee are the cause of this effect, as both
caffeinated as well as decaf coffee have been linked to potential
health benefits.
Besides
cardiac disease, there are studies suggesting that coffee intake is
associated with reductions in cancer, stroke, diabetes, and inflammatory
disease.
Large
studies have suggested that in persons who regularly drink coffee, there’s
a reduction in overall rates of
mortality. This was borne out in other studies, in multiple different
countries, involving many ethnicities. Interestingly, drinking more coffee
daily seems associated with increased benefits, and the groups of people
who drink more than 5 cups a day did the
best. Besides cardiac disease, there are studies suggesting that coffee intake is
associated with reductions in cancer, stroke, diabetes, and inflammatory
disease.
But
you’re here because you’re concerned about how coffee might affect your heart
health. Let’s break it down.
How coffee influences your risk of heart attack
There
are not a lot of studies looking at whether drinking coffee after a heart
attack is good or bad. In one study, patients who were coffee drinkers
at the time of their heart attack fared better than patients who had heart
attacks who did not drink coffee. Usually, my patients who
have had heart attacks are battling far worse types of behaviors, and coffee
drinking is not something that I discourage.
It’s
true that studies from many years ago seemed to have implicated coffee drinking
with increased heart attacks, but when they looked at those patients who ended
up with heart disease, it was associated with tobacco use, not the coffee
they were drinking.
Potential downsides of drinking coffee
Some
people find that coffee doesn’t agree with them, and there are people who
have negative side effects such as headaches,
dizziness, GI issues and the inability to sleep. We used to ask persons who had
palpitations (extra heart beats) to cut down on coffee, but more recent data suggests that the coffee
isn’t causing these problems, and there’s no reason they have to stop drinking
it.
It’s
notable that these theoretical benefits — or at least non-detriments — are not
carried over to caffeine-laden energy drinks. There are many reports of harmful effects when these
types of drinks are used or abused, in particular in young or vulnerable
populations, i.e. children.
Here’s
my final take on coffee. Drinking coffee is not a substitute for taking
medications (when prescribed), maintaining a healthy weight, abstaining from
tobacco or moderating alcohol intake. The associations between coffee and
improved health in these studies may be simply that — associations, not direct
causes. At the very least, very few negative consequences of drinking coffee
have been reported.
So,
when my patients ask me if they can still have their coffee (without a side of
guilt), I tell them to enjoy their cup of joe.
Are you
at risk for heart disease? Take the quiz and find out today.
Dr. Jeffrey M. Schussler, MD, FACC, FSCAI is a general and
interventional cardiologist on the medical staff at Baylor Scott & White
Heart and Vascular Hospital – Dallas and Baylor University Medical Center. His
interests include preventative cardiology, coronary stents, trans-radial (through
the wrist) coronary intervention. More recently, his research has focused on
non-invasive coronary imaging using CT scans, as well as robotic-assisted
angioplasty. He is active on Twitter @Updock typically
posting on new technologies and techniques in cardiology.
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