Contrary to widely held suspicions that caffeinated drinks cause irregular heart rhythms, heart failure, or a wide variety of other heart related ailments, a new study has found that the heart remains relatively unaffected under the influence of caffeine.
According to Today, a large portion of doctors are taught that caffeinated beverages such as tea, coffee, and chocolate cause heart disturbances. However, during the study it became apparent that there was no noticeable correlation between caffeine consumption and these heart disturbances.
“We may unnecessarily be discouraging consumption of items like chocolate, coffee and tea that might actually have cardiovascular benefits,” Dr. Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist at the University of California San Francisco, said in a statement.
The study involved examining the caffeine consumption habits of 1,388 people, with an average age of 72. Measuring instances of premature ventricular contractions and premature atrial contractions, researchers were attempting to find signs of heart disturbances in participants that never showed themselves – no matter how much coffee or tea or chocolate the participant had had.
Even more intriguing the lack of a correlation between caffeine consumption and heart disturbances is the study’s finding and listing the benefits of regular caffeine consumption.
“Regular coffee consumption has been associated with a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and other cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity and depression,” Marcus and colleagues wrote in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
“Furthermore, large observational studies have found that habitual coffee drinkers have lower rates of coronary artery disease and of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.”
That being said, the study warns that coffee consumption exceeding five cups a day might be pushing it and that kids shouldn’t be having too much caffeine.