Coffee lowers blood pressure or raises it? This condition has been the focus of international studies for some time. Research generally states that drinking coffee promotes hypertension. One study claimed that the pressure rose only in those who were not used to drinking it. Instead, those who drink two or three a day have lower blood pressure than those who drink only one cup or those who do not take even one. But there’s more. Coffee would not affect either peripheral pressure or central aortic pressure. The results were published in the scientific journal Nutrients.
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Coffee and pressure: the Bolognese study
The researchers at the Emilia research center observed the data of 783 women and 720 men. Their information was contained in the Brisighella Heart Study. This is an observational study coordinated by Claudio Borghi, professor at the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences of the University of Bologna. This document has been compiling information on risk factors for heart disease since 1972.
Now comes a study by Sant’Orsola of Bologna which claims that coffee helps keep blood pressure low. The results would leave no room for doubt.
Ten years of international research confirm these results
“Our data is the latest in a chain of research results from around the world that go in the same direction. There has been favorable information on the intake of coffee for 10 years prevention of cardiovascular diseasesincluding hypertension», explains Borghi himself.
«The cliché according to which coffee is harmful to the heart generates a background noise higher than that of scientific research. With our study we wanted to understand if what other American and Asian colleagues claimed about coffee was true. We wanted to understand if it was also applicable to our lifestyles. We have had ample confirmation. Otherwise we wouldn’t have made such a clear-cut statement.”
Can a hypertensive patient drink coffee?
So can a hypertensive patient be advised to drink coffee? «Of course yes, the recommendation to drink coffee in the cardiovascular field is reported on new guidelines of the European Cardiological Society. What we have validated is the quantity of 2-3 cups a daybut even more. There is an increase in cardiovascular survival between 0 and 5 coffees, after which the risk flattens out, but does not contradict itself».
Why are there doctors who ask their patients not to drink coffee?
«It all stems from the fact that coffee can determine a slight increase in heart rate and a certain difficulty falling asleep in people who are however genetically predisposed. It should be remembered that coffee contains many antioxidant substances which are parts of coffee and which have nothing to do with caffeine. This effect of caffeine had led to the thought that increased heart rate could be harmful. The effect is minimal and is much more noticeable in occasional drinkers. There is a progressive adaptation of caffeine receptors so habitual coffee drinkers do not experience these side effects. There are many popular beliefs».
Up to 3 cups a day, pressure ok
The working group compared blood pressure levels with consumption habits of the world‘s most popular drink. According to the experts there is no doubt. Peripheral blood pressure was significantly lower in people consuming 1 to 3 cups of coffee per day than in non-coffee drinkers. For the first time, the researchers were able to confirm these effects also with respect to the central aortic pressure, the one close to the heart, where an almost identical phenomenon is observed, with very similar values for those who habitually drink coffee compared to non-consumers.
Until now, research had focused on caffeine and not on coffee as a whole of molecules
The results demonstrate that the values are lower in coffee consumers both in systolic blood pressure and in pulse pressure. As we said, the same occurs both at the level of the peripheral circulation and for the central aortic pressure. All results that confirm the positive effects of coffee in mitigating the risk of cardiovascular disease.
According to experts, caffeine can help raise blood pressure. Other bioactive components in coffee, however, seem to counterbalance this effect, with a positive final result with respect to blood pressure levels. All of the studies done so far have looked at the effects of caffeine and not on coffee as a whole.
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