Coffee Linked With High Blood Pressure Risk

 

The likelihood of having to start drug treatment to control high blood pressure, or hypertension, seems to be increased among coffee drinkers. However, researchers also found no relationship between how much coffee one drinks and increased risk of hypertension, whether one drinks one or eight cups or more per day.

Although there have been previous studies, the association between coffee consumption and hypertension is still not clear, Dr. Gang Hu, of the National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland, and colleagues report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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Caffeine is a natural stimulant found in berries, nuts and leaves of plants. Caffeine is found mostly in tea or coffee products. Caffeine increases the central nervous system activity, which makes you feel awakened, alert and focused. Due to the increased activity of central nervous system, blood vessels constrict and increase blood pressure, which alter the supply of blood to the heart.

As caffeine is a stimulant, high blood pressure can be suspected. Long term caffeine intake is associated with increased blood pressure in adolescents that increases the risk of hypertension.

Limited amount of coffee or caffeine does not cause changes in blood pressure. But, people who drink a lot of coffee have the most risk. Heavy coffee drinking (average 5 cups per day) can elevate blood pressure and it can be harmful in people with hypertension and can even increase the risk of stroke.

Drinking coffee also increases excretion of calcium, which affects person’s blood pressure. Other than coffee there are other risk factors that can cause high blood pressure.

Risk factors of high blood pressure:

  • People whose parents have hypertension are more likely to develop blood pressure.
  • Increasing age is one of the factors for blood pressure and therefore elderly people are more likely to get it.
  • Excessive intake of sodium can elevate the blood pressure.
  • Obesity and overweight are the contributing factors of hypertension.

New method to control high blood pressure:

Protein kinase G (PKG) is used to bring blood pressure under control. PKG also plays an important role in all tissues in the body. The main role of PKG is regulating blood pressure in the cardiovascular system.

PKG need nitric oxide presentation, which is produced within blood vessels, in order to regulate blood pressure. The process involved in this regulation is called oxidation. But, oxidation is harmful rather than helpful for the body.

Free radicals and oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide can cause damage to cells. These free radicals and oxidants play an important role in normal cell functioning. Oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide create a bond between two amino acids. Therefore, PKG is activated by the bond which causes lowering of blood pressure.