Caffeinated Coffee Helpful for Blood Vessels

That morning cup of coffee that you rely on to get you awake and on the move may be doing more for you than you realized. Previous research has led to the conclusion that consuming moderate amounts of coffee can help cardiovascular health. Although the connection between coffee and improvements in heart health were made, they weren’t understood. A science article in USA Today based on the findings of research by Masato Tsutsui, a cardiologist and professor from the pharmacology department of the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan, describes the study that they performed. Tsutsui and colleagues studied 27 healthy adults between the ages of 22 and 30 who were not regular coffee drinkers. During the study, each participant drank 5 ounces of either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee. Their reactive hyperemia was then measured, in each participant’s left index fingers. This measurement determines the vascular function, which represents the functional capacity of small blood vessels. Whichever type of coffee the participants were tested with on the first day, the process was repeated using the other type of coffee, two days later. Findings of the study were reported in Dallas at a meeting of the American Heart Association. Those participants who were given caffeinated coffee had an increase of 30% in vascular function over a period of 75 minutes. The caffeinated coffee raised their blood pressure slightly, while decreasing the blood flow in the index finger. Heart rate levels were the same across the board. The significance of these findings is that it may give researchers a clue about the mechanism involved in how coffee improves cardiovascular health. Advanced studies will need to be made to determine how much caffeinated coffee will have the most significant impact on heart health, and how much may increase the risk of heart problems.