A recent study found that drinking two or more cups of coffee a day can double the risk of death from heart disease for people with severe high blood pressure (160/100 mm Hg or higher), but not for people with high blood pressure that’s not severe.
However, one cup of coffee or daily green tea consumption did not increase the risk of death related to heart disease at any blood pressure level.
The study included more than 6,570 men and more than 12,000 women, ages 40 to 79 years, who were followed up for nearly 19 years. During the study, 842 heart-related deaths were reported.
The team classified blood pressure into five categories: optimal and normal (less than 130/85 mm Hg), high normal (130-139/85-89 mm Hg), grade 1 hypertension (140-159/90-99 mm Hg), grade 2 (160-179/100-109 mm Hg), and grade 3 (higher than 180/110 mm Hg).
Blood pressure measures in grades 2 and 3 were considered severe hypertension in this study.
The team found that drinking two or more cups of coffee a day was linked to twice the risk of heart disease death in people whose blood pressure was 160/100 mm Hg or higher compared to those who did not drink any coffee.
However, previous research has found that drinking one cup of coffee a day may help heart attack survivors by lowering their risk of death after a heart attack and may prevent heart attacks or strokes in healthy individuals.
Drinking coffee regularly may also reduce the risk of developing chronic illnesses, help to control appetite, lower the risk of depression, or boost alertness.
On the other hand, drinking too much coffee may raise blood pressure and lead to anxiety, heart palpitations, and difficulty sleeping.
Green tea intake was not linked to an increased risk of heart disease death across any blood pressure categories.
The benefits of green tea may be explained by the presence of polyphenols, which are micronutrients with healthy antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties found in plants.
These findings suggest that people with severe high blood pressure should avoid excessive coffee consumption as caffeine’s harmful effects may outweigh its protective effects and may increase the risk of death.
The study was conducted by Hiroyasu Iso et al and published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
If you care about heart health, please read studies that coconut sugar could help reduce artery stiffness, and mild thyroid diseases can lead to severe heart problems.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies that measuring blood pressure in both arms may prevent heart disease, and results showing vitamin D could help lower the risk of autoimmune diseases.
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