Expert advice regarding coffee and caffeine consumption for people with heart disease varies.
“Patients who are sensitive to caffeine and those with certain heart rhythm issues should avoid caffeine,” says Mangla.
“People with certain arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation or supraventricular tachycardia may need to be cautious with caffeine, as caffeine can occasionally trigger palpitations or rapid heartbeats,” says Ostfeld.
People with more severe high blood pressure may also want to exercise caution. “Those with uncontrolled high blood pressure should limit caffeine until their blood pressure is more optimized,” says Ostfeld.
If you have heart failure, Ostfeld advises speaking with your cardiologist, noting most guidelines don’t suggest restricting coffee consumption unless your symptoms worsen.
The potential health benefits of coffee may still apply to someone who has heart disease, especially when the beverage is consumed without added sugars or high-fat cream. Ostfeld notes that its anti-inflammatory properties, blood vessel protection, and associated lower risk for certain heart conditions are worth considering.
That doesn’t mean that coffee is a treatment for heart disease. “Coffee [is] overall neutral,” says Sean Heffron, MD, a preventive cardiologist at the Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at NYU Langone Heart in New York, notes that. “I certainly don’t counsel patients to consume coffee for the heart benefits, nor do I discourage them necessarily from consuming it for the heart benefits.”
Overall, moderation is key for people with heart disease who want to drink coffee. “There are very limited guidelines,” says Mangla. ”However, the general recommendation is to limit caffeine [consumption] to less than 400 milligrams (mg) per day, which would equate to less than four cups of usual brewed coffee.”