IF YOU had to guess which common beverage could play a key role in protecting against atrial fibrillation (AF), you probably wouldn't pick coffee.
And yet...research from the University of Adelaide and University of California, San Francisco (ACSF), has found that AF patients who drank at least one cup of coffee per day had a 39% reduction in the risk of AF episodes compared to those who avoided caffeine.
The study involved 200 AF patients from Australia and North America, with half the group required to consume at least one cup of coffee or espresso shot each day, while the other half had to abstain from coffee and caffeinated products altogether.
Patients were then monitored regularly over six months, with any episodes of AF verified.
"[The finding] is surprising as it goes against the common assumption by doctors and patients that coffee worsens heart rhythm disorders such as AF," said first author Professor Christopher X Wong from the University of Adelaide.
"Doctors have always recommended patients with problematic AF minimise their coffee intake, but this trial suggests that coffee is not only safe but likely to be protective."
The finding could be due to increased physical activity - which improves AF - as a result of consuming caffeine, its diuretic effect, which reduces blood pressure, or its anti-inflammatory properties.
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