According to new research, drinking too much of this popular beverage can affect your heart rhythm immediately.
Coffee may provide you with the extra energy-revitalizing boost you need to get through your busy day, but it appears that it may also be harming your body. Coffee users may experience abnormal heartbeats if they consume too much of their beloved brew, according to new research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2021.
The study (which was partially supported by the Division of Cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco) observed 100 volunteers who were an average of 38 years old. When the individuals drank more than one cup of coffee, the ECG sensors they wore—which monitor heart rhythm—recorded twice as many premature ventricular contractions from the lower chambers of the heart, or a 54 percent increase.
"Coffee is the most widely used beverage on the planet, but its health effects are unknown," said Gregory Marcus, M.D., M.A.S., one of the study's authors and an endowed professor of atrial fibrillation research at the University of California, San Francisco. "While most long-term observational studies have suggested various possible benefits of drinking coffee," Marcus continued, "this is the first randomized experiment to investigate the real-time, physiologic consequences of coffee consumption."
However, the findings of this study appear to indicate that coffee has an immediate but temporary effect on your heartbeat.
According to Dr. Jim Liu, a cardiologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Caffeine can have short-term impacts on the heart as a stimulant, including "raising blood pressure and increasing palpitations," according to the study.
While "chronic caffeine usage may slightly increase blood pressure," according to Dr. Liu, "caffeine consumption has not been shown to have any major long-term adverse effects on cardiovascular health when consumed in small to moderate amounts."
It's important to drink coffee in moderation. "I think it's a good idea, in general, to contact with a healthcare physician if you are getting irregular heartbeats, especially if they are persistent and bothersome," Dr. Liu said when asked what to do if your heart rate is slightly off after drinking coffee.