High blood pressure? Drinking 2 cups of coffee a day doubles the risk of dying from heart disease, a new study reveals

For many people, the day doesn’t really start until they have their first cup of coffee. In addition to giving you the boost you need to get into gear in the morning, research has also found that java can have significant health benefits In some cases. But as a powerful stimulant, there’s still plenty of reason to watch how much joe you’re putting back. And now a new study has found that drinking just two cups of coffee a day can double the risk of death from heart disease for people with high blood pressure. Read on to see if you should delay ordering your next mug.

READ THE FOLLOWING: Drinking every day can reduce the risk of heart failure, a new study says.

A new study has shown that drinking two cups of coffee a day doubles the risk of death from heart disease in people with extremely high blood pressure.

The latest insight into coffee potential health effects comes from a study published in Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) December 21. To collect the data, the research team used 6,574 men and 12,035 women who participated in the Japan Cancer Risk Assessment Cohort Study. All participants in the group were between the ages of 40 and 79 when they signed up for the study between 1988 and 1990.

The participants were followed until 2009, during which they self-reported their coffee and tea consumption habits and were assessed for lifestyle, diet and medical history using data collected during health examinations and questionnaires, according to a statement from the American Heart Association (AHA). Blood pressure was measured at one point during the study, which allowed the team to classify each participant into one of five groups based on their readings. The categories are divided into optimal and normal at blood pressure 130/85; high normal at 130-139/85-89; hypertension of the 1st degree from 140-159/90-99; hypertension of the 2nd degree at 160-179/100-109; and grade 3 hypertension for readings of 180/110 or higher. For the purposes of the study, anyone with a reading of 160/100 or higher was considered to have severe hypertension.

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The results of the team’s analysis revealed that study participants in the severe hypertension category who drank two or more cups of coffee a day had twice the risk of dying from heart disease compared to those who did not drink coffee.

The results also showed that not everyone who drank coffee or tea experienced the same jump in risk.

But while the findings point to coffee consumption as a potential health problem, it wasn’t the problem entirely. Drinking just one cup a day did not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease-related death. And no amount of green tea – which is also a caffeinated beverage – was shown affect any group.

“We were surprised to find that heavy coffee consumption was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality in people with severe hypertension, but not in those without hypertension or with stage 1 hypertension,” Masayuki Teramoto, MD, a study author from Osaka University School of Medicine in Japan and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UC San Francisco, told HealthDay. “In contrast, green tea consumption was not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality across all blood pressure categories.”

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Other studies have revealed the health benefits of drinking coffee.

In its press release announcing new researchThe AHA points out that previous studies have actually found that there is some health benefits for coffee. One 2021 study published in a journal Circulation: Heart failure found that increasing coffee consumption was associated with a decreased risk of heart failure. The organization also cited other research who found that coffee consumption can actually reduce the risk of hypertension in patients who have not yet been diagnosed with the condition.

Researchers in the latest study also noted that the increased risk may not be related to caffeine at all given the findings with green tea. Instead, they explained that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of the polyphenols found in the drink may be behind the correlation.

“These beneficial effects of green tea may partially explain why only coffee consumption is associated with an increased risk of death in people with severe hypertension, despite both green tea and coffee containing caffeine,” Teramoto told HealthDay.

The researchers concluded that people with severe hypertension may want to reconsider their coffee intake.

Finally, the researchers said the study had some limitations, including self-reported coffee and tea consumption and that additional blood pressure readings were not taken to account for changes over time. The team also said further research is needed to establish a stronger link between coffee or green tea consumption and blood pressure using different groups of participants. But they concluded that their findings point to some potential lifestyle decisions for people with hypertension.

“These findings may support the claim that people with severe high blood pressure should avoid excessive coffee consumption,” Hiroyasu Iso, MD, PhD, senior author of the study and director of the Institute for Global Health Policy Research at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Tokyo, said in a press release. “Because people with severe hypertension are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine, the harmful effects of caffeine may outweigh its protective effects and may increase the risk of death.”