Caffeine, the worlds most widely used legal drug. Most of us ingest it to keep us awake through energy drinks or cups of coffee. But could that cup of Joe be doing more harm then good? Everyday coffee is becoming more and more accessible and it seems like younger and younger people are becoming used to consuming it on a regular basis. But new research suggests drinking the beverage could increase the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks in young adults.
The European Society of Cardiology Congress is presenting a study by Dr.Lucio Mos (a cardiologist) that suggests that young adults with mild hypertension are more likeley to increase the risk of cardiovascular events and ‘should keep consumption to a minimum’.
Researchers investigated the coffee consumption habits of 1,201 non-diabetic patients aged 18-45 years. Each participant had stage 1 hypertension (mild high blood pressure). Coffee consumption was defined by the amount of cups of caffeine-containing coffee participants drank every day. The study included non drinkers (no coffee), moderate drinkers (1-3 cups daily), and heavy drinkers (4 or more cups daily).
Type 2 diabetes is frequently known to develop in patients with hypertension at a later stage, and so the researchers investigated how coffee drinking influenced the risk of developing prediabetes over time, following the participants for 12.5 years. How quickly the participants metabolized caffeine determines the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Only in heavy coffee drinkers who metabolized caffeine slowly did the risk of prediabetes increase significantly.
Being diabetic brings on its own waves of issues and can lead to being overweight or obesity which, in turn, puts more strain on your heart. During the study’s follow-up period, a total of 60 cardiovascular events were observed, with the majority of these (80%) being heart attacks. So if you know that you suffer from mildly high blood pressure you might want to consider cutting back on your coffee consumption. Making better choices now might save you some trouble in the future.
Written by Charlie Marquez
Sourced from Medical News Today
