Does this mean you should get coffee immediately after your stroke to get those brain capillaries working better? What does your doctor think? Does your doctor think at all?
Coffee may help perk up your blood vessels
The caffeine in a cup of coffee might help your small blood vessels
work better, according to research presented at the American Heart
Association’s Scientific Sessions 2013.
A study of 27 healthy adults showed – for the first time – that
drinking a cup of caffeinated coffee significantly improved blood flow
in a finger, which is a measure of how well the inner lining of the
body’s smaller blood vessels work. Specifically, participants who drank a
cup of caffeinated coffee had a 30 percent increase in blood flow over a
75-minute period compared to those who drank decaffeinated coffee.
“This gives us a clue about how coffee may help improve
cardiovascular health,” said Masato Tsutsui, M.D., Ph.D., lead
researcher and a cardiologist and professor in the pharmacology
department at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan.
The study adds to a growing body of research about coffee, the most
widely consumed beverage worldwide. Previous studies showed that
drinking coffee is linked to lower risks of dying from heart disease and
stroke, and that high doses of caffeine may improve the function of
larger arteries.
Study participants were people who did not regularly drink coffee,
ranging in age from 22 to 30. On one day, each participant drank one
five-ounce cup of either regular or decaffeinated coffee. Then
researchers measured finger blood flow with laser Doppler flowmetry, a
non-invasive technique for gauging blood circulation on a microscopic
level. Two days later, the experiment was repeated with the other type
of coffee. Neither the researchers nor the participants knew when they
were drinking caffeinated coffee.
The researchers noted blood pressure, heart rate, and vascular
resistance levels. They also took blood samples to analyze levels of
caffeine and to rule out the role of hormones on blood vessel function.
Compared to decaf, caffeinated coffee slightly raised participants’
blood pressure and improved vessel inner lining function. Heart rate
levels were the same between the two groups.
It’s still unclear how caffeine actually works to improve small blood
vessel function, although Tsutsui suggests that caffeine may help open
blood vessels and reduce inflammation.
“If we know how the positive effects of coffee work, it could lead to
a new treatment strategy for cardiovascular disease in the future,”
said Tsutsui.
Co-authors are Katsuhiko Noguchi, Ph.D.; Toshihiro Matsuzaki, M.D.,
Ph.D.; Mayuko Sakanashi, Ph.D.; Naobumi Hamadate, Ph.D.; Taro Uchida;
B.Sc.; Mika Kina-Tanada, D.D.S.; Haruaki Kubota,
M.D.; Junko Nakasone, Ph.D.; Matao Sakanashi, M.D., Ph.D.; Fumihiko Kamezaki, M.D., Ph.D.;
Akihide Tanimoto, M.D., Ph.D.; Nobuyuki Yanagihara, Ph.D.; Yusuke
Ohya, M.D., Ph.D.; Hiroaki Masuzaki, M.D., Ph.D.; and Shogo Ishiuchi,
M.D., Ph.D.
Author disclosures are on the abstract.
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