Coffee – good or bad for the heart?

The study suggests that 'moderate' coffee drinking prevents the arteries from clogging, and thereby staves off strokes and heart attacks. The international study, led by the Kangbuk Samsung Hospital in Seoul, screened 25,138 Korean men and women who had an average age of 41 and no signs of heart disease.

The authors of the research concluded: "Our study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that coffee consumption might be inversely associated with CVD (cardiovascular disease) risk."

But wait, doesn't caffeine consumption cause excessively fast heartbeats, and therefore high blood pressure, and maybe even a heart attack? So which one is it — is coffee good or bad?

The best answer is that coffee can result in a type of excessively fast heartbeat, called atrial tachycardia, which can trigger heart attacks in some people, especially in those who are not accustomed to it. But on average, the study shows that drinking a couple of cups of coffee per day decreases the odds of developing heart failure.

So you may continue enjoying the pleasure of waking up to your coffee, if you are not one of those "unlucky" people.