Coffee and Green Tea Consumption and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Among People With and Without Hypertension

What is it about?

This study aimed to determine whether the known protective effect of coffee also applies to individuals with different degrees of hypertension; moreover, it also examined the effects of green tea in the same population. During the 18.9 years of median follow-up, a total of 842 cardiovascular disease deaths were documented. Heavy coffee drinking (≥2 cups/day) was associated with twice the cardiovascular disease mortality of no coffee drinking among those with grade 2–3 hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥160 or diastolic blood pressure ≥100), while such an association was not observed for other BP categories. In contrast, green tea consumption was not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality across any blood pressure categories.

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Photo by Emre on Unsplash

Photo by Emre on Unsplash

Why is it important?

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to find a positive association between heavy coffee consumption and cardiovascular disease mortality among people with severe hypertension. Because hypertensives are more susceptible to the effects of caffeine, caffeine's harmful effects may outweigh its protective effects and increase the risk of mortality in persons with severe hypertension. The present study may support the assertion that heavy coffee consumption should be avoided among people with severe hypertension.