posted
My brother tried to quit coffee and take No-doze instead. When he saw the doc he had heart beat irregularities and the doc told him to stop taking No-doze. He was taking high doses of caffeine, but still...
So it can cause heart problems, and over long periods those problems can get severe.
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
Caffeine has several ways to increase the rate of heart failure: it can blockade the adenosine receptors, which are part of the feedback loop that prevents overextending the heart in exercise (kind of how Viagra could predispose to a heart attack in someone otherwise unlikely to overexert), it raises blood pressure (a component of most congestive heart failure -- the increased peripheral resistance to blood being pushed out of the heart makes the heart muscle dilate and overwork), and it predisposes to dehydration (a primary component of "forward heart failure," independent of the effects on the heart itself). These are what come to mind, but I'm sure there are other reasons.
On the other hand, it can be therapeutic at the right doses in the right situations. It's all about context.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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