Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Coffee Stifles Atrial Fibrillation


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Conventional wisdom implicates caffeine as a trigger for cardiac arrhythmias. Not so, at least for atrial fibrillation, concludes the so-called DECAF study, an acronym for Does Eliminating Coffee Avoid Fibrillation? Headed by cardiologists from UC-San Francisco and Australia’s University of Adelaide, this clinical trial studied 200 adults with atrial fibrillation.


Subjects were randomly assigned to drink at least one cup of caffeinated coffee or avoid caffeine entirely for six months. Those who drank coffee daily show 39% fewer AFib episodes. The investigators suggest multiple reasons for this beneficial effect: caffeine may stimulate increased physical activity, caffeine is a mild diuretic that could lower blood pressure, and coffee contains natural compounds that may reduce inflammation.


If this study is confirmed, those with a history of atrial fibrillation, rather than avoiding all caffeinated coffee intake, might benefit from moderate intake of daily “joe.”


https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251110021046.htm

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2841253


#AF #atrialfibrillation #coffee #caffeine #arrthymias

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Dr. Howard Smith ReportsBy Howard G. Smith MD, AM