Does coffee cause high blood pressure or a high pulse?

Does coffee cause high blood pressure or a high pulse?

 

Many people think that coffee increases blood pressure and causes cardiac arrhythmia. However, there is no scientific basis for this. Studies have shown that a regular intake of coffee up to 4-5 cups per day does not increase blood pressure.

In the studies, cardiac arrhythmias are also not increasingly triggered by coffee consumption. In 2023, a study was published in the well-known "New England Journal of Medicine" in which no increase in extrasystoles could be proven with coffee consumption. In contrast to coffee, however, alcohol significantly increases the risk of atrial fibrillation.

But is there perhaps something unhealthy in coffee - such as the sugar we add? According to a recently published study of 2923 men, the sugar in coffee had no negative effect on mortality or the development of diabetes mellitus over a long-term period of 32 years.

In short: the saying - "C-A-F-F-E-E - don't drink so much coffee" - seems to be wrong...! On the contrary: there is nothing negative to report about coffee. At least when consumed in healthy quantities: Coffee (up to 5 cups per day) even has a pronounced antioxidant effect and thus even reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and cardiac arrhythmia. However, this statement does not apply to extremely high doses of coffee, i.e. caffeine intoxication can very well provoke dangerous arrhythmias.

At the moment, we don't have a prescription from the doctor for caffeine - but who knows what the future holds! The next time we have a migraine, we'll gladly reach for a coffee - even without a prescription. What's more, the caffeine in coffee increases vigilance and physical performance in trained and non-trained athletes.

 

Christian Schmied and Christine Attenhofer Jost