A recent study indicates that caffeinated coffee is safe for individuals with atrial fibrillation and may even provide protective benefits against the recurrence of the condition.
Over 10 million Americans suffer from atrial fibrillation, commonly referred to as A-fib. The heart disorder causes heart palpitations and eventually leads to heart failure, blood clots, and stroke.
“There is no standard advice for atrial fibrillation and caffeine,” said Dr. Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who led the study, per NBC. “It is very common for me to encounter patients who have stopped drinking caffeinated coffee only because their physician has told them to do so because of their atrial fibrillation.”
The DECAF (Does Eliminating Coffee Avoid Fibrillation?) study examined the effects of coffee consumption in individuals with a history of irregular heart rhythm that had either been treated or resolved. Researchers assessed 200 older adults in Australia, Canada, and the United States who were frequent coffee drinkers at some point in the past five years.
Over the course of six months, participants were randomly assigned to two groups. The first group ceased all caffeine consumption, while the second group drank at least one cup every day.
The team of researchers leveraged data from electrocardiograms (ECGs), wearable heart monitors, and implantable cardiac devices to determine if and when a person in each group experienced their first recurrent episode of A-fib.
Before the trial began, 60% of the people in the coffee-drinking group and 65% in the no-coffee group said that coffee had never led to an episode.
During the half-year study, 56% of individuals had a recurrent atrial flutter. Notably, however, 47% of individuals in the coffee group had a recurrence, compared to 64% in the no-coffee group. The coffee group also went for a longer period before their first episode.
The study did not assess what happens when more than one cup of coffee is consumed daily. As a result, says Dr. Johanna Contreras, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital in New York, moderation is key.