There is finally some good news for those who sacrifice their paychecks to Rao’s. A recent study found that coffee, though it may cause a case of the jitters, is not linked to heart arrhythmias. Research revealed that people who rely on java to get them through the day are actually less likely to be hospitalized for complications related to this serious heart condition.
The unexpected results of the study were presented on March 5th at an American Heart Association (AHA) conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. The research team, headed by cardiologist Arthur Klatsky, used the health records of over 130,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 90 in order to gain a long-term perspective. As part of a baseline checkup, patients filled out a questionnaire about coffee, alcohol and drug consumption.
Follow up studies found that only 2.6% of all participants were hospitalized for arrhythmia, a heart condition characterized by abnormal heart rhythms, from the time of enrollment through 2008. Individuals who reported drinking over four cups a day had 18% fewer hospitalizations for the heart condition compared to coffee abstainers. Those who drank three or less cups a day were seven percent less likely to be hospitalized. These results persisted across many experimental subgroups, including gender, reported alcohol intake, cardiac history and weight differences.
According to Klatsky, these results contradict what doctors have been telling patients about avoiding serious heart problems. “I think conventional wisdom is that coffee can cause palpitations and it can cause rhythm problems. I think, though, that conventional wisdom is not always right,” he said.
The specific biological underpinnings of the results are unknown, although Klatsky hypothesizes that caffeine may block the action of adenosine by attaching to its receptors. Adenosine is a powerful nucleoside that can slow the heart’s conduction system and the recovery time of cardiomyocytes, the cells that compose involuntary heart muscle. Klatsky emphasizes that this is purely speculative but a promising starting point for future research on the topic.
Dr. Kenneth Ellenbogen, also an AHA spokesperson, said, “I think the take-home message from this very important epidemiologic study is that most people can drink coffee, even several cups of coffee, without increasing their risk of having a significant heart rhythm disturbance that would require hospitalization.” Doctors are not, however, recommending that people use coffee to reduce their risk of heart arrhythmias, but are simply eager to inform patients that if they are at risk for heart conditions there is no need to give up coffee.
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