Overview
- Researchers randomized 200 adults post-cardioversion in the U.S., Australia and Canada to either drink at least one cup of caffeinated coffee daily or avoid all caffeine for six months.
- Coffee drinkers had fewer recurrences of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, with events in 47% of the coffee group versus 64% in the abstinence group, equating to a 39% lower risk.
- The findings were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and published in JAMA, with events verified by ECGs, wearables and clinician adjudication.
- Generalizability is limited by the older, predominantly male and white cohort, self-reported intake, and some nonadherence in the no-caffeine arm.
- The study tested roughly one cup per day and does not address higher caffeine doses or energy drinks, and the biological mechanism of the apparent benefit remains uncertain.