A small study involving patients with heart failure has confirmed that even high doses of caffeine do not increase the risk of arrhythmia in such patients, according to an Internet publication for girls and women aged 14-35 who have been diagnosed with Pannochka. net Neither at rest, nor with a load treadmill test.

The results of the study were published on the pages of JAMA Internal Medicine.

The project was led by the employee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Luis Rohde, head of the department of cardiology at the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Arrhythmia (literally "lack of rhythm") is a violation of the heart rhythm that can slow down, accelerate or become uneven. In most cases, arrhythmia does not lead to serious health consequences. But sometimes arrhythmia is deadly, especially when the heart can not cope with its work.

Coffee in heart failure is considered taboo.

Doctors warn patients with heart failure and an increased risk of arrhythmia that they should not take caffeine even in small doses. Conclusions of Brazilian scientists may lead to a revision of these views.

Coffee and heart: conflicting data.

This study is not the first time undermining the foundations of modern ideas about coffee and heart.

Earlier this year, staff from the University of California in San Francisco (USA) reported that regular use of caffeine is not associated with the risk of arrhythmia in healthy people. The authors concluded that the effect of caffeine on cardiac activity has not yet been fully understood and is surrounded by contradictions.

According to American researchers, today cardiologists without sufficient evidence base recommend that all patients at risk of arrhythmia limit or completely abandon coffee.

Earlier, animal experiments were conducted, which indeed revealed a link between very high doses of caffeine and cardiac rhythm disturbances.

But in public, these observations, in fact, have not been verified.

"Unfortunately, we know very little about the effect of coffee in heart failure, especially large doses of this drink. Today, we are guided, rather, by precautions and our theoretical conclusions, rather than by real scientific facts, "says a statement by Brazilian scientists.

Caffeine in heart failure is safe?.

A new, randomized, placebo-controlled trial included 51 patients with systolic heart failure.

25 of them received 100 mg of caffeine in the form of a powder dissolved in decaffeinated coffee.

The remaining 26 were secretly given a placebo, dissolving in the same beverage a powder of milk sugar (lactose).

Both groups drank one serving each hour for 5 hours, which corresponded to a total dose of 500 milligrams of caffeine for the first group. This is equivalent to five cups of natural coffee.

Observation of participants and tests did not reveal any connection between caffeine consumption and the risk of arrhythmia.

Even with the help of a treadmill test, an hour after admission, scientists could not provoke rhythm disturbances.

Thus authors note, that half of patients even before research regularly used coffee.

In principle, this could affect the results of work. Also, the long-term effects of caffeine in heart failure remain questionable, since the last experiment lasted only a few hours.

"Single intake of large doses of caffeine does not cause arrhythmia in chronic systolic heart failure. Neither at rest, nor after limited physical exertion. At present, there is no scientific basis for limiting caffeine to patients with an increased risk of arrhythmia, "the authors concluded..

medbe. en.