Your first cup of coffee in the morning, right after waking up, could be doing you more good than harm. The morning brew is often criticised for inducing anxiety or a regular heartbeat if taken on an empty stomach.
But what is the actual truth?
Dr Jeremy London, a US cardiovascular surgeon with over 25 years of clinical experience, in an Instagram post shared on November 17, examined the medical advice to avoid coffee and caffeine for patients with atrial fibrillation, a recommendation based on the belief that it would irritate the heart rhythm.
For the uninitiated, atrial fibrillation is a common type of irregular and often rapid heartbeat where the upper chambers of the heart quiver instead of contracting normally. Here’s what he explained:
Does coffee trigger atrial fibrillation (AFib)?
According to Dr Jeremy, for decades, doctors have told patients with atrial fibrillation to avoid caffeine. He revealed that caffeine was labelled as a stimulant, something that would negatively affect the heart, irritate the rhythm, and particularly trigger more episodes of AFib.
Moreover, if you already had a history of AFib, the message was even stronger: “Avoid coffee altogether.” But here’s what happens when you actually test long-held beliefs with real science.
The study
Dr Jeremy shared that a brand-new randomised controlled trial put the question ‘Does coffee trigger atrial fibrillation?’ under the microscope. “Researchers took 200 patients with AFib and split them into two groups,” the surgeon divulged.
In the study, one group drank caffeinated coffee daily, while the other group avoided coffee completely. The research goal was to determine whether coffee affected AFib, making it better, worse, or having no effect at all.
The result
“The results surprised everyone,” Dr Jeremy shared. “Patients who drank at least one cup of coffee a day had a 39 percent lower chance of recurrent AFib in the 6 months after procedure, restored normal rhythm compared to those who abstained from coffee. Let me say that again. The coffee drinkers had less AFib,” he added.
Now, according to the surgeon, this is just one randomised trial with a relatively small sample size. He cautioned, “This is not permission to chug six cups a day, but it does suggest something important: Your morning cup of coffee may actually be protective, not dangerous. This is why good data matters.”