Two cups of coffee per day may decrease odds of developing heart failure

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(CBS News) Could two cups of coffee a day keep the heart doctor away? A new study shows that your daily cup of joe might provide that health benefit.

The study, published in Circulation Heart Failure, shows that, to a point, moderate coffee drinking may significantly lower the risk of heart failure. But don't overdo it - the study also found excessive coffee drinking may increase the chance of getting major heart problems.

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"While there is a commonly held belief that regular coffee consumption may be dangerous to heart health, our research suggests that the opposite may be true," said senior study author Dr. Murray Mittleman, director of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, in a press release.

Heart failure occurs when the heart can no longer pump blood to the rest of the body and its most commonly caused by coronary artery disease, a narrowing of the blood vessels that provide oxygen and blood to the heart.

Looking at five studies of coffee consumption in Sweden and Finland that involved 140,200 people and 6,522 heart failure events, researchers determined that four northern European servings of coffee a day - about two commercial 8-ounce cups of coffee in the U.S. - helped prevent heart failure by 11 percent. But, when people consumed 10 northern European servings of coffee daily - about four to five average U.S. cups of coffee - the opposite effect was observed.

The strength of the brew was not accounted for, but typically European coffee is stronger than coffee consumed in the U.S. Also, there was no indication whether the subjects were drinking caffeinated or decaffeinated drinks, though most of the coffee that's consumed in the study areas tend to contain caffeine.

Currently, the American Heart Association says that people who have had heart problems shouldn't drink more than one or two cups of caffeinated beverages a day. The study authors hope this new evidence may change that.

"This is good news for coffee drinkers, of course, but it also may warrant changes to the current heart failure prevention guidelines, which suggest that coffee drinking may be risky for heart patients," Elizabeth Mostofsky, lead study author and research fellow at Beth Israel, said in the press release." It now appears that a couple of cups of coffee per day may actually help protect against heart failure."

While the study didn't look at why drinking coffee may provide health benefits, it has been proven that coffee drinkers increased tolerance to caffeine may put them at a decreased risk of developing high blood pressure as well as a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

"Diabetes and hypertension are among the most important risk factors for heart failure, so it stands to reason that reducing one's odds of developing either of them, in turn, reduces one's chance of heart failure," Mittleman said in the press release.

HealthPop reported in May on a study of 400,000 people that found men who drank two to three cups of coffee each day were 10 percent likely to die at any age from any cause and women were 13 percent less likely to die, compared with their coffee-free counterparts.

[johnbmen]

Well I guess that means my 12 oz cup is the same as 2 of their cups which means I'm drinking too much coffee from one cup and should use of their cups rather than one of my cups but i rather use one of my cups than two of their cups. I'm confused.



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[ArabianCoffees]

First it was "lowers death rate", then it was "may help you lose weight", then "prevents onset of Alzheimer's" and now this about heart failure! Coffee is becoming the new life giving wonder drug!

[foo8259]

"Correlation does not imply causation" Firemen are always seen fighting a fire. Therefore firemen must cause fires. Because cholesterol is found in some clots in a damaged artery then high cholesterol must be the cause of heart disease. Because saturated fats are solid at room temperature, and they can clog the kitchen sink, they must contribute to clogged arteries...

[MIO42]

Great Study
I know lots of people coffee has helped
In fact you seldom see a doughnut shop robbed
Cuz it's full of Cops

[Valhalla0907]

I AM NOW IMMORTAL!!!!!

[silvalgal]

Missing data: Who underwrote this coffee drinking:heart health study? The findings went out in a "press release" so it's public relations for the principals involved.

[train99]

As usual, some is good, too much is bad and no way to know which in your case.
And no-one has to take responsibility if the indications are found to be wrong five years from now.
Do you see the pattern in this attempt to break you down and make you easily controlled?
Fight media manipulation.

[hypnotoad72]

All at once?

140,200 people can't really be a solid representation of 7 billion, unless they all fit 'average' profiles... I doubt the study was so nuanced...

What next... tomorrow someone will say smoking is great for peoples' heath...

[JData]

Yes, and because this was a meta-analysis of many smaller studies, it is even more difficult to ascertain the methods used in the studies. My best guess for the correlation is that people who drink two cups of coffee in Europe on average benefit from better socio-economic conditions than the rest of the sample population. This study is mostly worthless.

[Arzantine]

Yes, I am Arzantine. My medical training and research in Wildwood Ga. let's me know that: THERE IS NO TRUTH WHATSOEVER, THAT COFFEE IS BENEFICIAL TO THE HUMAN SYSTEM. IT IS ABSOLUTELY DETRIMENTAL. THIS MISINFORMATION THAT IT MIGHT BE BENEFICIAL IS A CORRUPT CONCEPT FOISTED ON HUMANS. DO NOT BELIEVE IT FOR A MOMENT!