Cuppa Joe Heart Attack

Ivanhoe Newswire
Wednesday, August 16, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A study published this week reveals for those who are not used to the effects of java and who also have coronary heart disease risk factors, a steaming cup of Joe can be too much for them.

Researchers from Brown University in Providence, R.I., and Harvard School of Public Health in Boston hypothesized coffee could start a chain reaction that would end in a heart attack in some people.

Caffeine causes short-term increases in blood pressure and a faster heartbeat that could lead to atherosclerotic plaque breaking off, which could block a blood vessel in the heart and cause a heart attack.

The researchers studied cases of non-fatal heart attacks in Costa Rica. Patients were asked how much coffee they drank in the hours and days before the attack and how much coffee they drank in their lives overall.

Heavy coffee drinkers didn't see much of a risk increase. Moderate drinkers increased their risk of having a heart attack by 60 percent if they had a cup of coffee. Light coffee drinkers increased their risk by more than four times if they had a cup. Those with three or more risk factors for coronary heart disease more than doubled their risk.

The researchers write they can't be sure it's the caffeine causing the chain reaction, but it is the most likely suspect.

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SOURCE: Epidemiology, 2006;17:506-511