Does Coffee Cause High Blood Pressure?
March 10th, 2010
A not too long ago study in Finland followed more than twenty four thousand citizens with no history of hypertension or high blood pressure for 13 years. It was an attempt to find a causal link between high blood pressure and coffee. The ages of the participants were between 25 and 64 years old. Also required was that they had no history of hypertension drug use and no history of stroke or heart disease.
The results of the study were inconclusive leaving it an open question as to how much coffee drinking affects hypertension.
Over the period during which the study took place, more than 2500 subjects, or about ten percent of them started to take some type of anti hypertension drug. Previous studies have shown that roughly 19% of non-coffee drinkers developed high blood pressure during the time period of the study. What’s unknown is how many of the participants developed high blood pressure but are either unaware of it or not taking medication for it.
A small portion of the questions that the subjects were requested to complete concentrated on the number of cups of coffer they drank on a daily basis. As it turned out, the more cups of coffee a participant drank, the greater the odds were that he or she would end up in the group taking anti hypertension drugs. So even though there does seem to be some slight causation link between coffee drinking and high blood pressure, the risk seems to be small, and many questions still remain unanswered.
For example, coffee drinkers tend to drink alcohol more than non coffee drinkers. Though the occasional drink may be good for relieving stress and may even reduce diastolic blood pressure, studies have consistently shown that alcohol when consumed in excess increases blood pressure. We also know that over time, excess drinking can damage the heart. The study did not control for alcohol consumption.
Unfortunately, until better control studies come along, we are left in the dark. However, those of us who love coffee, can now enjoy our daily coffee blends without guilt.
Melissa Chow is a freelance writer who writes articles for her website on topics such as how to control high blood pressure, herbs to lower blood pressure, and little known natural cures for high blood pressure. Please visit her site for more details.
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