London, February 12: Here’s some bad news for those who can’t get out of bed without sipping a hot espresso – a single cup of the caffeinated drink is enough to damage your heart, a new study has claimed.
Italian researchers have carried out the study and found that the high amount of caffeine in a single espresso can have “unfavourable cardiovascular effects” — it cuts blood flow to the heart by more than a fifth.
Decaffeinated coffee, in contrast, boosts blood flow, the study has found.
A single espresso contains up to 130 milligrammes of caffeine, compared to 75 mg in a cup of instant. Filter coffee contains around 120 mg per cup. For their study, the researchers from the University of Palermo recruited 20 volunteers. They examined the blood flow of the subjects who drank a single espresso and compared it to a decaffeinated alternative.
The caffeinated variety narrowed blood vessels, cutting blood flow to the heart by an average of 22 per cent within an hour, according to the findings published in the ‘European Journal of Clinical Nutrition’.
This is because caffeine acts to block a chemical which keeps blood vessels expanded. But when the volunteers drank a decaf espresso, the flow improved slightly. The blood pressure also rose significantly after a normal espresso.
—-PTI