Does Coffee Reduce Heart Failure Risk? 

Coffee is the third most popular drink in America. Twelve percent of Americans have at least one cup of coffee every day.¹ But is coffee good for you? And is it good for your heart? Here’s what to know.

How does coffee work?

I’m sure many people reading this are sipping on a cup of coffee. If you’re like me, you drink it for the caffeine effect. And, of course, caffeine is a stimulant. It tells your brain to wake up. It enhances your mood.²

During the day, your body produces a hormone called adenosine. It’s a byproduct of physical activity and thinking, so it makes sense that you’d create more of it as the day goes on. It makes you feel tired.²

Once you ingest coffee, it travels to your brain through your blood system. Caffeine attaches to receptors on cells called A1 receptors. These are the same receptors that adenosine attaches to. So, caffeine prevents adenosine from making you feel tired. Therefore, you feel awake.²

It also binds to A2A receptors which promote the release of dopamine. This is a hormone that stimulates your mood.

How does coffee affect your heart?

Because of its popularity, coffee is probably one of the most studied drinks in the world. Some studies show coffee may be harmful. For instance, a 2006 study showed that drinking one cup of coffee may increase your risk for heart attacks. The results also indicate it might be better to drink no coffee rather than just one cup. Interestingly, the study results almost seem to show it’s better to be a java coffee drinker than a moderate coffee drinker.³

Interestingly some studies do indicate that coffee also reduces your risk for heart attacks. Others show it also reduces your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.⁴

And, of course, this was just one study.

Some promising news

Potential heart impacts

Most experts seem to agree that some coffee is actually good for you. According to experts, up to 400 milligrams of coffee is safe. That comes to about four cups of coffee, although more than that can cause side effects such as jitteriness. It may also increase your heart rate and blood pressure.^5-6 So, caffeine in coffee may impact your heart. That said, studies do seem to indicate that it probably does not cause atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm.⁶

A hopeful study

A more recent study may prove very promising for members of our community. It shows that drinking coffee may reduce the risk of heart failure. This was actually a compilation study, and I think those are the most reliable studies. What they do is compare the results of various studies. This study compared results from three studies and it showed that drinking at least one cup of coffee per day reduced your risk for heart failure. The results also showed one cup of coffee per day reduces your risk for stroke.⁷

Atherosclerosis

The study also looked at the effects of coffee on those with atherosclerosis. It showed no decreased risk among those who drank only one cup of coffee per day. But it showed a 30% decreased risk in those who drank 2 cups of coffee per day.⁸ The authors also noted that decaffeinated coffee increased the risk for heart failure.

What does it mean for you?

More studies are needed

Again, these study results warrant further studies. But, they do seem to show that it may be better to drink more coffee as opposed to less.^7-8 The study reviewers say that they will not yet recommend coffee to reduce heart failure. This is because those who drink coffee may have some other behavior that reduces heart failure risk. So, for this reason, further studies on this are warranted.^7-8 Please note that these studies test plain black coffee.

It depends

Most experts do agree that coffee is safe. They recommend a limit of 4-5 8 ounce cups per day.^4,7-8 The question now becomes: is coffee good for YOU? And the answer to that is “it depends.” It depends on you. It depends on your body and it depends on your doctor. Learning if coffee is safe for you may begin by having that discussion with your doctor.

What about you? Do you drink coffee? Does your doctor prefer you avoid it? Let us know in the comments below.