Appolonia Adeyemi 
Researchers in the United States (US) said regular coffee consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk for arrhythmias. This is the findings of a new study presented recently as part of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) online meeting: ‘HRS 2020 Science’. Arrhythmia means an irregular heartbeat whether irregular, too fast or too slow and diagnosing it is critical, as arrhythmia can indicate severe heart damage. Symptoms include palpitations, dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath, chest pain, among others.
Eun-Jeong Kim, M.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues investigated the association between habitual caffeine consumption and the risk for arrhythmia among 357,022 participants in the United Kingdom (UK) Biobank. They found that coffee consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk for arrhythmia.
Each additional daily cup of coffee was associated with a lower incidence of arrhythmia, the study affirmed. Kim said: “Results should reassure patients and physicians of the low risks associated with regular coffee consumption, and we hope it will encourage care providers to work directly with patients to determine and personalise their specific lifestyle factors, including caffeine consumption.”
The ‘Medical Xpress’ reported that the researchers followed up their participants during 5.25 years of the study, during which there were 8,159 incident arrhythmias diagnosed (6,999 atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, 890 supraventricular tachycardia, 459 ventricular tachycardia, and 385 premature ventricular complex).
Atrial fibrillation (AF or A-fib) is an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) characterised by the rapid and irregular beating of the atrial chambers of the heart. It often begins as short periods of abnormal beating, which become longer or continuous over time. On its part, supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is an abnormally fast heart rhythm arising from improper electrical activity in the upper part of the heart.
