Is coffee bad for the heart? Author of new national guidelines explains.

Dr. Jose Joglar, the lead author of AHA’s new guidelines on diagnosing and treating irregular heartbeats, discusses how coffee affects heart health. 

What You Need to Know:

• New guidelines recently published in Circulation include material on healthy lifestyle, reducing risk, and treatment for arrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation – an irregular heart rhythm that can lead to stroke and other issues.
• Coffee drinkers diagnosed with atrial fibrillation often don't need to give up the beverage. Dr. Joglar notes that studies have found caffeine – when consumed in usual amounts – is not linked to increased risk.
• Some atrial fibrillation patients fear “their heart is going to race and be worse off” if they consume caffeine, “but it's not in the science,” Dr. Joglar says. “The bad reputation that caffeine has is not deserved."
• Dr. Joglar suggests people with other conditions should talk with their doctor, noting that coffee may negatively affect a patient with high blood pressure or other heart conditions.

Dr. Joglar is a cardiologist and director of UT Southwestern's arrhythmia program. For interviews or health story ideas, contact James Beltran, media relations manager at UT Southwestern Medical Center, at [email protected] or 214-600-0255.