Coffee and AF

[cockerfarley]

Anyone seen this.Caffeine prevents AF ?

gloucestershirelive.co.uk/n...

[CDreamer]

Sadly they do not site the original research paper but yes, I have seen a lot of studies showing that coffee can calm ANS, contrary to popular belief. You may also find you are asked to take down the link by Admin as posting unapproved links is now contravenes forum rules. It is not made clear in the article that this is an observational association - not a cause and effect study.

There is an article on European Association of Cardiology website - 2022 where Prof Kistler quotes:-

“Caffeine is the most well-known constituent in coffee, but the beverage contains more than 100 biologically active components. It is likely that the non-caffeinated compounds were responsible for the positive relationships observed between coffee drinking, cardiovascular disease and survival. Our findings indicate that drinking modest amounts of coffee of all types should not be discouraged but can be enjoyed as a heart healthy behaviour.”

This is a somewhat different interpretation to the spin the article in your link puts so be very careful what you swallow whole with regard to popular press reporting on AF or any other medical condition.

Some people do seem to be sensitive to caffeine so can be a push/pull affect so depends upon the coffee and the quality of the coffee and the amounts. What my understanding is that benefits for protection against CVD and heart attacks and stroke is greater than protection against arrhythmias.

My own experience is I am fine with 1-2 cups of good quality, freshly brewed coffee but things go awry when filter coffee is left stewing or any sort of dried, granulated coffee is taken.

ZOE have a good podcast on how coffee can improve your health. Both my nutritionist and Lifestyle doctor friend are great fans, as are most who look to nutrition before pharmacology.

[gtkelly in reply to CDreamer]

ZOE?

[SlothOnSpeed]

Hi, sadly I don’t think so.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[cockerfarley in reply to SlothOnSpeed]

Hi Sloth I read that the conclusion was caffeine intake had an inverse relationship to AF and hospitalisation, meaning coffee intake up AF goes down, which was the conclusion in the Australian research. I had been consuming essentially decaf, but not sure now

[CDreamer in reply to SlothOnSpeed]

That’s an old study and I can say with certainty that for every study saying coffee is good for health, there is a study expressing an alternative view. I came to the conclusion it’s just really personally.

[Budken in reply to SlothOnSpeed]

The article you link to is from 2011! Studies since then have shown that drinking Coffee, does not cause arrythmias and is actually healthy for your heart. I started drinking Coffee ( and I like it strong ) again after being told back in 2011, the same year as your article, that I had to stop. Two years ago I read that previous studies were flawed, and it was perfectly ok to drink coffee even with Afib. I have had only one afib episode which abated on its own after a few hours, in the past five years.

[Rosie1066]

I’m addicted to coffee and wouldn’t like to even hazard a guess how many cups I have a day. It never prevented my AF!

[Desanthony in reply to Rosie1066]

No didn't have any effect on mine either whether caffeinated or decaffeinated. I did meet someone waiting for ablation who could actually pin his paroxysmal AF to having one cup of Coffee - a capuccino with an extra shot from a well known coffee chain (name begins with C eds in A) on a Friday morning break time. So it seems, as always with AF no one can really tell it is what it is.

[mjames1 in reply to Desanthony]

I had an afib episode about 60 seconds after consuming a grande soy latte at Starbucks. I sadly have not had a grande soy latte since. I miss it, but not a fib.

Jim

[mjames1]

Could it simply be that those with afib drank little or no coffee because they found coffee to trigger afib? And therefore more afib in "little/no coffee" group was not from less coffee, but because of coffee's pro-arrhythmic effect?

I think they would need an RTC (random controlled study) to really draw a solid conclusion and I believe the study was more observational.

Personally, I've been finding fewer tachycardia's when I stop drinking coffee, but again that's only an observational study of one.

The study is interesting, but I believe it's an individual thing. Coffee may help some, and it may hurt others.

Jim

[KMRobbo]

Wow!

[Vanna101]

I can only give my own experience, but I do know as a fact that caffeinated coffee will set off an af attack within a very few minutes, and that twice, after a caffeinated coffee, I have ended up in hospital, for a week each time

[Omniscient1]

The Kistler study is in (this is a citation not a link) and is 6 years old, JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology Vol.4 No.4 2018.This post dates the study flagged by slothonspeed, but both agree that small amounts of caffeine ("3 cups") are ok. As CDreamer points out though it may be the other things in coffee which are beneficial.

[Ppiman]

I have read this over a few years so this is a compilation style study. I enjoy my coffee. A very few people have a sensitivity to caffeine, it seems, and in those few, coffee is best avoided.

Steve

[SB2352]

I enjoy coffee and have never found that it triggers my AF, but I only have 1-2 cups per day in the morning as I prefer tea the rest of the time. My main trigger was wine, especially white (sadly) and if tired, stressed or viral. I think it must be a very individual thing with so many variables that it must be impossible to conduct a scientific study on. I hate being told “avoid this or that” - most people with paroxysmal AF will soon learn what their triggers are.

[AvocadoSmasher]

I haven't seen that, but people have different triggers for AF, and coffee definitely doesn't trigger mine! In fact on a couple of occasions a cup of coffee has stopped my AF episode. I have two cups of coffee a day regularly with no problems resulting!

[Brizzy50000]

I would say the exact opposite, it was too much caffeine that would kick off my AF, the doctor at the hospital when I was first diagnosed with AF, said caffeine was a contributing factor, so went caffeine free beverages only, it was better for a while but AF is a horrible beast, in the end ablation 6 years ago was the only solution and now still AF free

[Garaidh]

I'm one of the lucky ones for whom coffee is a (remaining!) pleasure I can enjoy without fear of it triggering Afib. And I love it! But! I do have a rule, and don't we end up with so many of them! No coffee after 4-5pm, and a daily total of three is the usual limit. I do get a strengthening boost from coffee and, in decades of having this unpredictable beast in my life, I've never noticed any correlation with problems ☺️ Phew

[wischo]

Honestly! surely a newspaper article is not going to encourage people from having more or less of their favourite morning beverage?. If I did a survey on people that drank hot chocolate I can guarantee you either there would be a sizeable difference in the number with increased AF or the number of decreased AF. This would need to be carried out as a proper clinical trial setting over years to get an accurate conclusion. Ignore these type of articles as with AF we have enough to be thinking about.

[Cabinessence]

First thing my doctor asked when first presenting was how much tea and coffee I drank. And alcohol as well. I've been on decaff now for 5 yrs + and it hasn't helped me at all. Decaff doesn't trigger though so despite the other countless ingredients I'd say caffeine is the active one as far as AF is concerned. Sometimes when I have a caff by mistake, I can feel as if I'm going to trip into an attack. So sadly I'd say that it's definitely not the case in my experiences.

[LankyCoachMan]

If you want coffee but have AF, I highly recommend Kenco Decaf, the green label jar. Tastes just like normal coffee, without giving palpitations or affecting your AF

[Tomred]

Not for me it hasnt.

[Peacefulneedshelp]

I too only drink 1 or 2 cups a day and only organic coffee of highest quality. I also like to have a light beer with my dinner. I hadn't had an AF episode for over a year. three days ago I decided to not drink at all and after 2 days I am back in AF. It is totally a mystery and very annoying and confusing for sure. Our nervous systems are over sensitive for sure.

[drdubb]

Too much caffeine seems to give me ectopics. That has been the case for me since my 40's. (70 now) Too much chocolate is also correlated with my ectopics. I've had two episodes of AFIB since my second ablation in 2019. One was associated with dehydration for a colonoscopy and the other with dehydration and a lot of caffeine. I will drink one copy of coffee a day, maybe two from time to time. I try to avoid other caffeinated drinks. I use decaf green tea and drink decaf sodas when I have one.

[RatPurdy]

Oddly enough coffee seems to act as a fibrillation suppressant for me . Attacks often start at 9 to 11 at night, continue 'til morning, and over coffee at 10am - Voila - irregularity disappears.

Gotta be a personal thing alright.

[kdra]

Nope! The exact opposite. Caffeine is a trigger for Afib for most.

[Macan]

when I started my AF journey in January 23, my consultant’s opinion was that coffee in moderation was good and may even help the condition.