The final word on coffee and AF
After a study released earlier this year suggesting that this black brew can lower heart attack risk comes another which clears it from heightening a person’s risk of a condition that causes irregular heartbeat or Atrial Fibrillation. Now researchers reveal there’s more evidence showing that caffeine fix is good for the heart. Though this may lead you to believe drinking too many cups of joe could also cause your heart to flutter, a new study says this simply isn’t so. On the other hand, coffee is often speculated to be associated with heart problems, but its relation to the heart condition known as atrial fibrillation (AF) that is characterised by an irregular and/or abnormally rapid heart rate remained unclear. Coffee consumption is not associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation: results from two prospective cohorts and a meta-analysis.The researchers note, however, that their study does not suggest high coffee consumption is not linked to other forms of irregular heartbeat, noting that some patients with AF at study baseline reported reducing their coffee intake because it triggered arrhythmia.
Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden conducted the largest study to date on the association between coffee consumption and risk of atrial fibrillation. They also added that since there are limited studies done on the subject, more prospective studies that will look into the relationship of coffee consumption and AF are needed. In 1997, all the participants filled out questionnaires that asked about their health and diet, including how many cups of coffee they drank daily or weekly.
At the end of the study, which followed participants across a 12 year span, researchers found no correlation between coffee and an increased risk of this kind of irregular heartbeat.The investigators found no link between drinking coffee and atrial fibrillation in any of the studies. The grand total number of atrial fibrillation cases swelled to 10,406 people (out of 248,910).
By analyzing the results the researchers determined there was not an association between coffee consumption and atrial fibrillation – even when large quantities of coffee were consumed.
Larsson and her team, however, warned that coffee or caffeine may still trigger arrhythmia. “This is important because it shows that people who like coffee can safely continue to consume it, at least in moderation, without the risk of developing this condition”.