What Is The Relationship Between Coffee Consumption And Heart Attacks?
Coffee consumption and heart attacks are linked, although scientific studies differ in their views on this. For some researchers, coffee increases cardiovascular risk, and for others, the opposite is true.
Among world beverages, coffee occupies an important place. It is taken almost everywhere on the planet and constitutes a habit that exceeds the diet itself. The moment of coffee is, many times, a space for meeting and dialogue.
Therefore, the effect it may have on health is arousing interest. There are so many consumers that, if a reliable risk to life is detected, strict measures should be taken.
In general, there is a bad press linking caffeine to cardiovascular risk factors. Moreover, it is not uncommon for patients who suffered heart attacks to discontinue coffee of their own accord, without medical indication.
To talk about coffee consumption and heart attacks, it used to be established that caffeine was the substance to be studied. That brought up other drinks that also contain it, such as certain energizers. But a Swedish scientific study showed that coffee as such is a problem according to the way it is prepared and not precisely because of caffeine alone.
The way you drink coffee and the risk of heart attacks
A study group at the University of Gothenburg investigated the differences between the cardiac effects of the various ways of preparing coffee. It is interesting how each modality affects the mortality of the groups studied.
According to this study, the filter is the main determinant of the relationship between coffee consumption and heart attacks. When coffee is filtered, substances with unwanted effects are prevented from reaching the body.
These substances are capable of increasing LDL cholesterol levels, increasing the heart rate and altering the heart rhythm. All three are bad for the arteries and for the heart. It is even worse if the individual in question has other worrying factors, such as obesity, or a higher risk pathology, such as diabetes.
According to researchers in Sweden, when coffee is not filtered 30 times more toxic substances pass into the body than when filtered. That difference can be significant in terms of health.
Studies with opposing opinions
On the other hand, contrary to the Swedish researchers, there are meta-analyzes that advocate the use of coffee as a cardiac protector, rather than as a risk factor. This was part of the cardiology recommendations in the last decade.
A meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found no association between coffee consumption and heart attacks. On the contrary, the effects that emerged from the review speak of a benefit.
In the subjects analyzed, if they drank up to 4 cups of coffee a day, they had an 18% lower risk of dying earlier. In conclusion, regular and moderate coffee drinkers had a longer survival.
The explanation could be in the antioxidants in coffee, which are ingested along with caffeine. These substances are important for cellular aging, since they block the internal toxins that humans produce by the mere fact of being alive.
The Cortisol Problem: Coffee Drinking and Heart Attacks
Caffeine is a substance that increases the production of cortisol in the body. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone, since humans release it to increase their alert and defense response.
When there is excess cortisol, the heart rate increases and the blood pressure rises slightly. Both situations are not desirable in a heart patient, or in someone with high cardiovascular risk.
Regular drinkers get used to these slightly increased cortisol levels. The elevation in blood pressure is not significant and does not appear to increase the heart rate. In any case, those who are suspicious of drinking and its effect on the heart, avoid it for this reason.
It is not clear that coffee consumption leads to heart attacks due to cortisol, but research is still ongoing. Keeping the levels of this hormone in check is one of the therapeutic hopes against high blood pressure, for example.
Should we drink coffee?
The answer is that we can have coffee if we like the drink. Like everything in life, moderation will be a way to ensure that possible adverse effects do not appear.
It is important to understand that drinking coffee alone cannot lead to heart attacks. Other aspects such as diet and exercise are involved in the cardiovascular risk equation. It is the healthy habits that, ultimately, take care of us.
