How Soon After Should We Expect A Blood Pressure Rise With Coffee
Age, sex, habitual coffee consumption also need to be taken into consideration here. However, from the research the blood pressure effect begins at around about the 30 minutes mark. Certainly after 1 hour of coffee consumption, you should see the blood pressure effect of coffee quite vividly.
If you check your blood pressure at 30 minutes and 1 hour mark; you should know if your coffee has increased your blood pressure or not.
How To Drink Less Coffee
There are various ways to drink less caffeine without having to give up coffee completely.
One thing to keep in mind though is that its best to reduce the amount of caffeine youre getting gradually as a sudden drop in can give you mild withdrawal symptoms like headaches.; Heres what you can do:
Drink coffee thats lower in caffeine
As well as simply drinking less cups of coffee, you can also lower your caffeine intake by switching to a lower-caffeine kind of coffee if you really cant bear to drink decaf!
In general, espresso coffees contain less caffeine than brewed/filter coffee, and coffee made from Arabica coffee beans contains half the caffeine of coffee made from robusta beans.
A good way to control your caffeine levels is to make your own coffee. Experiment with different flavours and methods to see what you like, and take the time to make a really good coffee that youll really relish and enjoy quality rather than quantity and with less caffeine!
NOTE: Theres a very informative article on the caffeine content of different types of coffee here: High Caffeine Coffee Which Coffee is the Strongest?
Drink tea instead of coffee
You can also wholly or partially replace coffee with other less-caffeinated drinks like black tea and green tea. Remember that these still contain caffeine, though much less than coffee, so remember to factor in their caffeine content when figuring out how to stay under your daily caffeine limit.
Drink herbal teas and cordials
Caffeine And Blood Pressure Response Over Sex Age And Hormonal Status
Caffeine may impact blood pressure depending on your age and gender, but exactly how much is unclear, and likely unimportant for most of the population. The only group that might want to be careful about caffeine intakeor at least monitor its effect on blood pressureare people over 70. And women over 70 should be the most careful, if they are hypertensive.
I dont think caffeine poses any severe risks to people with blood pressure in the normal range, and it doesnt have to be avoided. There is really no solid science pointing to potential dangers, regardless of sex or age. If you drink a coffee or two in the morning and feel OK, I see no reason to stop.
But if you have high blood pressure or are hypertensive, it might be worthwhile switching to decaf.; Ultimately, your current blood pressure is the determining factor on whether or not caffeine can pose a risk.
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What To Avoid To Lower Your Blood Pressure
Salt
Salt or;sodium chloride;has been used to preserve foods and as a flavour enhancer for centuries.
Adults;need between 1.2 to 2.4g of salt each day;, which is equivalent to 460 to 920mg of sodium.
But in Australia seven out of ten men and three in ten women eat way more than that and much more than the upper recommended limit of 5.9 grams of salt or;2,300 mg of sodium per day.
If you add salt to food yourself this pushes your sodium intake even higher.
A;review of studies;involving 3,230 people showed that reducing salt intakes by 4.4 grams a day could reduce systolic blood pressure by about 4.2 mmHg and diastolic by 2.1 mmHg.
In those who had high blood pressure there were even bigger reductions of 5.4 mmHg and 2.8 mmHg .
Avoid foods high in sodium. Dont add salt and try to choose lower-salt versions of processed foods.
Alcohol
Consuming one or more alcoholic drink a day is;associated with systolic blood pressure;that is about 2.7 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure 1.4 mmHg higher than non-drinkers.
Interestingly, when you first drink an alcoholic beverage, blood pressure goes down, only to rise later.
A rise in blood pressure after drinking alcohol is;more likely to happen when youre awake, rather during sleep.
The bad news is that larger amounts of alcohol increase your risk of high blood pressure,;especially in men, but also to a lesser extent;in women.
Liquorice
High blood pressure due to eating black liquorice is rare, but;case reports have occurred.
Caffeine
Are Coffee And Tea Good For High Blood Pressure
Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease . And it is a;common condition in American adults.1 The role played by the most popular beverages tea and coffee, in blood pressure is still debated. For years, it was believed that caffeine present in them will have an adverse effect on blood pressure . But, recent research studies have contradicted these findings.2 The fretting about caffeine in coffee and tea is, thus, slowly fading. Here are the facts about the power of tea and coffee in combating high blood pressure.
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How Long Does The Effect Of Coffee On Blood Pressure Last
The blood pressure effect of coffee will last an average of about 3 hours. It could be longer or less but it is exepected that the blood pressure rise initiated by coffee will last an average of 3 hours.
Does coffee have a long term damage on cardiovascular health?
Does drinking coffee produce any long term damage on your cardiovascular health? Not really. The blood pressure increasing effect of coffee is in the short-term. When the subjects blood pressures were monitored over 24 hours in this study of tea, the caffeine effects on blood pressure were only seen in the acute phase but not in subsequent ambulatory BP readings.
This study also confirms the same theory too. It says that even though coffee does raise BP, there was no association between longer-term coffee consumption and increased BP or between habitual coffee consumption and an increased risk of CVD
In fact, this study tells us that coffee consumption is good for our cardiovascular health when drunk in moderate quantities. It says:
Moderate coffee consumption was inversely significantly associated with CVD risk, with the lowest CVD risk at 3 to 5 cups per day, and heavy coffee consumption was not associated with elevated CVD risk
So, we can safely say that in the long term, coffee consumption does not appear to cause any damage to our heart and blood vessels. Because the effect of coffee on blood pressure is temporary.
What Can I Do If Im Concerned About Caffeine And High Blood Pressure
If you are at all concerned about how your caffeine habit may be affecting your heart, here are a few things you can do to help ease your mind:
To sum it up: In most cases, a cup or two of your favorite caffeinated beverage in the morning wont cause any harm. Unless your doctor told you to specifically avoid it, its not something you should lose sleep over. The high blood pressure that comes right after drinking caffeine is temporary and wont make you any more likely to develop hypertension later in life.
Now, if youll excuse me, I need to finish my large, iced, French vanilla coffee.
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Research On Caffeine And Blood Pressure
Scientists, of course, have researched whether caffeine raises blood pressure. Some have found that it does, and one 1987 Italian study actually found that caffeine lowers blood pressure, Harvard Medical School reports.
It has become so accepted that caffeine raises blood pressure, that doctors advise avoiding caffeine before having your blood pressure checked because it may raise it enough to falsify test results.
But what is the evidence for caffeine raising blood pressure? Harvard Medical School reports that researchers from the United States and Switzerland studied 15 volunteers who didnt have high blood pressure and were nonsmokers. Only six habitually drank coffee. Harvard says:
The researchers monitored each volunteers blood pressure, heart rate, and sympathetic nervous system under four conditions: before and after drinking a triple espresso, before and after drinking a decaffeinated triple espresso, before and after receiving 250 mg of caffeine by intravenous injection, and before and after an intravenous placebo .
Caffeine Has An Immediate Short
Coffee is the most popular hot beverage in the Americas, Australia and most of Europe.
As coffee beans contain caffeine, that makes coffee our biggest source of caffeine.
Caffeine is a psychoactive drug that stimulates the release of certain hormones in the brain . This is why coffee gives us an energy kick.
Caffeine also gives a kick to our blood pressure, and is actually a well-documented pressor . Increases tend to be mild, in the range of 5 to 10 mmHg. Thats regardless of how often you drink coffee or your caffeine tolerance, although there are always rare exceptions .
Caffeine appears to have a greater pressor effect on those with elevated blood pressure compared to those with normal blood pressure. And those effects are not suppressed by the use of blood pressure lowering medications .
Coffee is sounding pretty grim right now, but caffeine only appears to elevate blood pressure for about 3 hours before the effect subsides .
So what does this mean for our health in the long run?
Summary: Drinking coffee immediately increases blood pressure, regardless of your caffeine tolerance. The effect typically only lasts for a maximum of 3 hours though.
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The Relationship Between Coffee And High Blood Pressure
One to two cups of plain black coffee doesn’t seem to be harmful, according to the American Heart Association. And coffee even has some surprising potential health benefits, including better focus, reduced inflammation, and lower risk of depression. As far as coffee intake and cardiovascular disease risk factors go, such as high blood pressure, information is mixed.
High Blood Pressure And Coffee
Now, let me say a word about coffee and people with high blood pressure. Should you drink coffee if you have high blood pressure?
Of course, you can drink coffee if you have high blood pressure. But you need to be careful.
Heres why?
When your blood pressure rises with coffee use, the effect is not responsive to high blood pressure medications. It is a sustained effect that is not easily reversed with high blood pressure pills.
Secondly, the effect of coffee or caffeine on people with high blood pressure is much more dramatic compared to people without high blood pressure .
So, whereas, you may have a rise of 6 mmHg systolic in someone without high blood pressure, you who has high blood pressure may experience a systolic rise of 12 mmHg or higher.
Now remember, I said earlier on that BP increase with coffee does last up to 3 hours. Imagine, if you are one of those people who drinks several cups of coffee a day.
Imagine a situation where youre constantly topping up your coffee fix when you are experiencing a caffeine crash every 4 hours or so. What do you think will happen?
Your elevated blood pressure reading will be sustained. Because whenever your blood pressure is beginning to settle, you spike it again with your top-up coffee.
Can you see how you can sabotage your blood pressure control efforts by your coffee drinking habits?
Heres something else
Everyone is different when it comes to coffee and blood pressure. How?
Which one are you?
Suggested further reading:
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How Coffee Raises Blood Pressure In The Long
While drinking coffee may raise blood pressure right after drinking it, the long-term effects are good for blood pressure. Reports have shown, drinking coffee in moderation may be beneficial for it and cardiovascular disease.
The following studies discuss the longer-term effects of coffee drinking on BP and cardiovascular disease. So, grab a nice cup of your favorite blend and continue to read on.
Drinks That Lower Your Blood Pressure
If you struggle with hypertension, odds are youve looked high and low for a quick and easy way to reduce your blood pressure.
The truth is that theres no single solution, but making simple changes can yield powerful results. Something as easy as expanding and evolving your beverage intake can help to keep your blood pressure at a healthy level.;
While lower blood pressure may not be just a sip away, simple changes to what you sip every day can lead to some big heart health benefits.
Here are a few options to get you started.
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Coffee Tips To Consider For Blood Pressure
- Always check with your physician first in regards to coffee consumption.
- Never drink coffee prior to checking your blood pressure in the morning because it will raise it.
- If you have a doctors appointment, dont drink coffee prior to your visit.
- Its best to wait about 6 hours or more before checking your blood pressure later in the day or evening.
- Take notes, along with your BP readings, about when you consumed coffee last and how much was drunk.
- Before exercise avoid drinking coffee. Exercise by itself can raise your BP, adding coffee at the same time may increase it more.
- As an experiment, check your blood pressure prior to drinking coffee and after. This can inform you how much it affects your BP short-term.
If you want to update your home blood pressure monitor or purchase an affordable one of high quality, check out my blog post for the ones I recommend, Home Blood Pressure Monitors I Recommend.
Nutrients In Coffee Credited For Fighting Blood Vessel Aging
Most of the men and women drank traditional Greek coffee in small, espresso-sized cups.
Greek coffee is considerably stronger, with more caffeine, than espresso, Chrysohoou tells WebMD.
She credits compounds, including flavonoids, magnesium, potassium, niacin, and vitamin E, for combating blood vessel aging by blocking the damaging oxidation process and reducing harmful inflammation. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals. This, in turn, can start chain reactions that damage cells.
Traditional Greek coffee contains more of these chemicals than most other types of coffee as it is unfiltered and boiled, Chrysohoou says.
“We recommend hypertensive patients drink coffee in moderation, just one to two cups a day, as it seems that it may improve arterial aging,” Chrysohoou says.
One limitation of the study is that participants drank their coffee in cafes with friends or with family at home, in a relaxed atmosphere. Therefore, the psychological benefits of socializing on heart health may help explain the findings.
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How Does Caffeine Affect Blood Pressure
Caffeine is a stimulant. Its why coffee and tea put a pep in your step. It fires up the nerves and gets your heart pumping a little faster. The effects are short-lived, but for a few hours after finishing your caffeinated beverage of choice, your blood pressure will be higher than normal. Not to worryone or two cups in the morning does not cause any long-term problems with blood pressure or increase your risk for developing hypertension.
On the flip side, coffee and tea have been linked to some possible health benefits, but whether or not its only due to their caffeine is up for debate. In a recently published study, researchers followed over 200,000 adults for 26 years who reported drinking between 1 and 5 cups of coffee a day. These adults were found to have an 8% to 15% lower risk of dying from any cause . Another study following over 320,000 tea drinkers for 5 years showed that drinking 4 cups or more of caffeinated tea a day had a 20% lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Green tea prepared without sweeteners are actually recommended by healthcare providers for those with chronic high blood pressure as part of the DASH diet.
Drink Your Way To Lower Blood Pressure
There are many delicious drinks which can actually help lower your blood pressure, as well as just not raising it. Youll find the most comprehensive overview of these in our book:
Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally The Complete 9 Step Guide.
Also, while you can drink your way to lower blood pressure to some extent, youll almost certainly need to adjust your diet and maybe other aspects of your lifestyle as well. If you want to seriously and sustainably lower your blood pressure for the long-term, then youll need to be quite active regularly. Youll also need to make sure youre not too stressed out too much of the time.
This might sound like quite a big ask, but it can actually be quite a straightforward process if you just take it one step at a time. Our book will help you do just that. Each step focuses on different aspects of lowering blood pressure naturally and gives you clear guidance on how to do it. You can follow the steps at whatever pace best suits you. Theres no deadline or race.
Theres also no terrible hardship to go through. Lowering blood pressure naturally absolutely does not have to be a life of denial. You can still eat chocolate, drink alcohol, and eat red meat and butter , along with plenty of other tasty and nutritious foods.
There are plenty of ways to get more exercise in your everyday life which are enjoyable and suit your natural interests you dont have to be a yoga or gym fanatic .
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