Coffee is great, caffeine is great, it’s all great. But new research by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) finds that, consumed routinely at high enough levels, caffeine may actually put folks at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Which is not great.
The findings will be presented at the ACC Asia 2024 conference in New Delhi, India taking place this weekend. For the study, researchers sought to find the effects chronic caffeine consumption has on cardiovascular health. They define chronic caffeine consumption as “the intake of any caffeinated drinks five days per week for more than one year.”
For the study, they examined 92 healthy individuals ages 18 through 45, each having their baseline brood pressure and pulse taken before undergoing a three-minute step test. Blood pressure and heart rate measurements were taken again one minute and five minutes after the step test. This data was then cross-referenced against the particpants’ caffeine intake levels.
They found that regularly consuming 400mg of caffeine or more—equating to around four cups of coffee, 10 cans of soda, or two energy drinks—was “shown to significantly impact the autonomic nervous system, raising the heart rate and blood pressure over time.”
At the extreme high end, folks whose chronic caffeine consumption was over 600mg experienced “significantly elevated heart rates and blood pressure” still at the five minute post-step assessment.
“Due to its effect on the autonomic nervous system, regular caffeine consumption could put otherwise healthy individuals at risk of hypertension and other cardiovascular events,” states lead author Nency Kagathara of Zydus Medical College and Hospital in Dahod, India.
Per the findings, hypertension, otherwise known as high blood pressure, has been shown to weaken the heart over time and is associated with high risk for coronary artery disease, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and dementia.
There are other factors beyond caffeine that affect blood pressure levels. Alcohol and salt consumption levels and smoking as well as physical exercise and a healthy diet also contribute. So maybe if I don’t smoke or drink (you can forget about me cutting out the salt, though, I like flavor too much), I can have a little extra coffee, as a treat. Life is all about balance. Or only hearing what you want to in scientific studies. One of those.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
