If you suffer from high blood pressure, or hypertension, then consuming this drink may double your risk of premature death, research has found.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), high blood pressure is a major risk factor for many chronic conditions, including heart disease, heart failure, chronic kidney disease and stroke.
Hypertension accounts for 5.8 per cent of the total disease burden in Australian hospitals and around 21 per cent of all Australian hypertension cases are the result of a high-sodium diet.
Now, new research from Japan reveals that for those suffering from severe hypertension, drinking two or more cups of coffee per day can potentially double your risk of death.
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The study used information from participants in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk (JCCSECR). The researchers looked at data from 18,609 people (6574 men and 12,035 women), who were aged between 40 and 79 when the study began.
Researchers took participants’ blood pressure readings at the start of the study, as well as other medical background information, and followed up with them over almost 19 years.
In that time the researchers recorded 842 cardiovascular-related deaths. Of those deaths, people who drank two or more cups of coffee per day were more than twice as likely to suffer a heart-related death compared to those who drank no coffee at all.
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Dr Hiroyasu Iso, lead author of the study, told Medical News Today the results were a stark warning on the dangers of coffee for those with high blood pressure.
“These findings may support the assertion that people with severe high blood pressure should avoid drinking excessive coffee,” he said.
The research did not show any link between drinking just one cup of coffee a day and increased heart risk.
When green tea was tested, the researchers did not find any increase in heart issues, no matter how much tea participants drank. Dr Iso says this result shows it isn’t necessarily the caffeine in coffee that is causing the trouble.
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“These beneficial effects of green tea catechins may partially explain why only coffee consumption was associated with an increased risk of mortality in people with severe hypertension despite both green tea and coffee containing caffeine,” he said.
So, if your blood pressure is a little on the high side, maybe consider switching out even one of your daily coffees for green tea. Your heart may thank you.
Are you a coffee drinker? Have you noticed any effect on your heart? Let us know in the comments section below.
