UK Cardiologist Explores Link Between Coffee and Heart Health

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 9, 2015) - After a long night and not enough sleep, many people reach for their first cup of coffee as quickly as they reach for the snooze button. Not long after the first one is down, another is poured.

Love for coffee can be traced back as far as Kaldi the goat herder, who lived in Ethiopia in 800 A.D. According to legend, Kaldi noticed that his goats would become playful after eating the berries of a certain plant. Out of curiosity, he brought the plant to the abbot of the local monastery, who made it into a drink and suddenly was able to stay awake during evening prayers.

Coffee, without a doubt, has secured itself in the hearts of many. But is your heart loving it back?

Dr. Thomas Whayne Jr., a cardiologist at the University of Kentucky Gill Heart Institute, is passionate about both heart health and coffee. He set out to understand whether coffee was beneficial or harmful for his patients.

"I became interested in coffee's history and cardiovascular effects and several years ago wrote a brief review in Spanish in the Revista Costarricense de Cardiología," said Whayne.  "A year or so ago, I decided to write a much more extensive and up-to-date review in English and after submitting it, the editor invited me to expand the article even more and submit to Current Vascular Pharmacology, which specializes in more extensive reviews."

Whayne discovered that moderate consumers -- those who drink 3 to 5 cups a day --  are not harming their cardiovascular health. Drinking coffee does not increase risk of coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension or sudden cardiac arrest. Moderate coffee drinkers might also see benefits such as decreased onset of type 2 diabetes and decreased risk of stroke.

“The bottom line,” Whayne said, “is that, for the patient who loves coffee in moderation, there should be no restriction to moderate intake even in the severe heart-failure patient, and patients should be encouraged to continue enjoying their coffee."

Coffee drinkers can be assured that even if they are at high cardiovascular risk, they can continue to enjoy their cup of joe. However, it should be limited if a person experiences bothersome cardiovascular effects, such as arrhythmias, as a result of drinking it or if they have a specific high-risk genetic abnormality.

But don't rush to the local coffee shop yet. While there is some sort of connection between coffee and reduced health risks, there isn't evidence to suggest that coffee alone decreases the risks, so adding coffee to your diet doesn't necessarily bestow any health benefits.

"Cardiologists should not recommend drinking coffee," said Whayne. "However, they can reassure patients that there may be some benefit and, at worst, very little cardiovascular risk.”

People will receive the most benefit when they forgo cream and sugar.  Whayne’s research also identified differences in benefit between filtered and non-filtered coffees (such as boiled, French press, and espresso).  Filtration appears to offer some additional cardiovascular benefit by removing a possible factor in coffee that can cause a minimal increase in cholesterol.