Caffeine to RAISE blood pressure saves lives?

[Guest guest]

What? Huh? This is first time I have heard of dangerously low blood

pressure risk of death after meals. Raising BP artificially with

caffeine in individuals with NORMAL BP saves lives according to this

study. Actually the greatest amount of caffeine is the most

protective! As CRONERS we have low BP to begin with! Does anyone know

anything more about this? Is this a common condition? Are we CRONERS,

due to our already low BP, also susceptible to this and at greater risk?

bill

February 21, 2007

Caffeine may be good for some aging hearts

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drinking caffeinated beverages on a

regular basis may provide significant protection against death from

heart disease in the elderly who have normal levels of blood pressure,

according to data from a large U.S. health and nutrition study.

Drinking caffeinated beverages may induce a " healthy " rise in blood

pressure that counteracts the drop in blood pressure that occurs after

a meal, a phenomenon that becomes more pronounced as people age,

researchers note.

Among 6,594 adults participating in the study, 426 died of heart

disease during a 9-year period. For subjects 65 years of age or older,

the researchers found that greater daily consumption of caffeinated

beverages was associated with a lower risk of death from heart

disease. This acted in a dose-response fashion - the higher the

caffeine level, the lower the risk, and visa versa.

People who consumed four or more servings of caffeinated beverages

daily had a 53-percent lower risk of death from heart disease compared

with those who consumed less than half a serving daily. Subjects who

consumed two to four servings per day had a 32-percent lower risk of

dying from heart disease.

Caffeinated ground coffee and caffeinated instant coffee, both of

which have relatively large amounts of caffeine per serving, were the

only specific beverages associated with a statistically significant

protective effect, the authors note.

This apparent protective effect of caffeinated coffee consumption was

not seen in people with severe high blood pressure or those who were

younger than 65 years of age.

Studies on caffeine and heart disease have yielded conflicting

results, note principal investigator Dr. A. Greenberg and

colleagues from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

" It is possible that the conflict is due to differences between

nonelderly and elderly persons, " they point out, noting that one study

found that drinking coffee increased the risk in younger subjects and

that the level of risk decreased with increasing age.

As mentioned, caffeine may protect against heart disease death in the

elderly by preventing a decline in blood pressure after meals, a

phenomenon that becomes increasing more pronounced with age.

If confirmed, the current findings could have important ramifications,

the authors conclude, given that coffee is widely consumed and heart

disease is one of the leading causes of death in the elderly.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2007.