Drinking up to six coffees a day could be good for the heart: research

DRINKING several cups of a coffee a day may be good for a troubled heart and cut stroke and cardiac arrest risk — but having too many cups can cause health problems instead.

DRINKING several cups of a coffee a day may be good for a troubled heart and cut stroke and cardiac arrest risk.

A review of 11 major international studies involving 360,000 people has found even six caffeine drinks a day can be healthy for those with arrhythmias, in which hearts beat abnormally: quickly, slowly, or unevenly.

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Drinking 10 cups a day can cause problems and a racing heart. But review lead author Professor Peter Kistler, from The Alfred hospital and Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, identified a “sweet spot” of three coffees a day which can be beneficial.

“Coffee certainly increases your resting heart rate, but it doesn’t cause an abnormal heartbeat,” Prof Kistler said.

Maud Alexis, 18 and Julie De Pauw, 21 enjoying a coffee in Degraves St. Picture: Jason Edwards

“About 80 per cent of doctors will recommend people with palpitations stop drinking coffee, and about 25 per cent of people with palpitations attribute it to coffee. From a medical science perspective none of the studies have actually shown that.

“In contrast, the most common arhythmia actually seems to be reducing in regular coffee drinkers,” Prof Kistler said.

“If you look broadly, beyond heart rhythm problems, regular coffee drinkers are at lower risk of heart failure. There is some evidence they may live longer and have better moods with lower rates of depression and stroke.

“Whichever way you look at it, coffee is a good thing.”

A typical cup of coffee has about 95 mg of caffeine, which acts on the central nervous system as a stimulant but also blocks effects of a chemical that can cause atrial fibrillation — the most common rhythm disorder causing rapid or skipped beats.

One study of almost 230,000 people showed atrial fibrillation  dropped by 6 per cent in regular coffee drinkers.

Melbourne’s coffee addiction has an up side after all. Picture: AAP Image/Renae Droop

Another analysis of 116,000 patients found a 13 per cent risk reduction, according to the review, published in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.

The Alfred researchers found that drinking even six cups of coffee a day did not cause a problem in patients with ventricular arrhythmias, and it might actually improve their heart rate.

But there are limits: two separate studies found that patients drinking the equivalent of nine or 10 coffees a day reported palpitations the following day. “About three to four coffees seems a good level, but more than nine or 10 becomes more dangerous,” Prof Kistler said.

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There are also warnings against energy drinks: three in four of those with heart conditions had palpitations within 24 hours of consuming two of the drinks, which each contain up to 500 mg of concentrated caffeine.

“(The drinks) have high levels of caffeine, but there are all sorts of other stimulants together: high levels of sugar ... Energy drinks, in general, for people with heart conditions, should be avoided,” Prof Kistler said.

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