Three cups a day may keep doctor away
DRINKING several cups of a coffee a day may actually be good for a troubled heart and cut the risk of symptoms leading to stroke and cardiac arrest.
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, which cause hearts to beat abnormally fast, slow or unevenly.
Although drinking 10 daily cuppas cause problems and a racing heart, lead author Peter Kistler identified a “sweet spot” of three coffees a day.
“Coffee certainly increases your resting heart rate, but it doesn’t cause an abnormal heartbeat,” Professor Kistler said.
“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 arrhythmia actually seems to be reducing in regular coffee drinkers.
“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.”