Senior study author Dr. Gregory Marcus said, “Clinical recommendations advising against the regular consumption of caffeinated products to prevent disturbances of the heart’s cardiac rhythm should be reconsidered, as we may unnecessarily be discouraging consumption of items like chocolate, coffee and tea that might actually have cardiovascular benefits.”
“Given our recent work demonstrating that extra heartbeats can be dangerous, this finding is especially relevant,” Dr. Marcus added.
The study was conducted over a 12-month period and included 1,400 healthy individuals, whose coffee, tea, and chocolate consumption was measured. Participants also wore heart monitors tracking their heart rate over the course of 24 hours.
Sixty-one percent of participants consumed more than one caffeinated beverage, and those who did consume multiple caffeine products did not endure rapid heartbeats.
Lead author Shalini Dixit added, “This was the first community-based sample to look at the impact of caffeine on extra heartbeats, as previous studies looked at people with known [heart rhythm disorders]. Whether acute consumption of these caffeinated products affects extra heartbeats requires further study.”
The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.