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What Effect Does Caffeine Have on your Heart?

What Effect Does Caffeine Have on your Heart_

Tea and coffee are amazingly beneficial beverages. The majority contain caffeine, a substance that can enhance your mood, metabolism, and mental and physical performance. Studies also show that it is safe for most people when consumed at low to moderate levels. Nevertheless, high intakes of caffeine can have uncomfortable and dangerous side effects.

In addition, several pieces of research show that genes significantly influence tolerance. As a result, some people can consume much more caffeine than others without experiencing adverse effects. In addition, people not used to caffeine may experience symptoms after consuming what is generally considered a moderate dose.

Some side effects of excessive caffeine intake can include anxiety, insomnia, digestive issues, muscle breakdown, addiction, high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, fatigue, frequent urination, and urgency. However, the bottom line is that light-to-moderate caffeine consumption appears to provide impressive health benefits to many people.

On the other hand, high dosages can cause side effects that interfere with daily life and even cause serious health problems. Even though reactions differ from one person to another, the results of high intake demonstrate that more is not necessarily better. So, you can get the benefits of caffeine without undesirable effects, make an accurate evaluation of your sleep, energy levels, and other factors influenced, and reduce your intake if necessary.

Rapid Heart Rate

The stimulant effects of high caffeine intake can make your heart beat faster. Unfortunately, it can also lead to an altered heart rhythm, called atrial fibrillation. This disorganized heart rhythm occurs in the upper chambers of the heart. It is the most common arrhythmia; it happens when many unstable electrical impulses fail and can cause the atria to quiver out of control. It causes the heart rate to increase and become erratic and can raise your heart rate much faster than average.

This situation shows when youths consume energy beverages containing extremely high doses of caffeine. In one case study, a woman taking a massive amount of caffeine powder and tablets in a suicide attempt developed a fast heart rate, kidney failure, and other serious health problems.

Nevertheless, this effect does not seem to occur in everyone; some individuals with cardiac issues may be able to tolerate enormous amounts of caffeine without any adverse effects. For example, in a controlled study, when fifty-one patients with heart failure consumed one hundred mg of caffeine every sixty minutes for five hours, their heart rates and rhythms remained normal. Regardless of the study’s mixed results, if you notice any change in your heart frequency or rhythm after drinking caffeinated drinks, consider reducing your consumption.

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Caffeine Consumption

Caffeine is an incredibly popular stimulant. More than 85% of the US population consumes at least one caffeinated beverage daily, with 96% coming from coffee, tea, and soft drinks. If you enjoy caffeinated beverages but have noticed heart palpitations, you may wonder if your daily caffeinated beverage is guilty of causing the heart palpitations.

You should try to keep your heart as healthy as possible. Heart palpitations, although brief and short-lived, should not be ignored, as they may indicate an underlying problem with your heart. Visit your doctor if you suspect that lifestyle habits such as drinking caffeine are causing these heart symptoms. Your doctor should perform a comprehensive evaluation to check the health of your heart. We will discuss caffeine, how it can cause heart palpitations, and what you can do about it.

Heart Palpitations

Most of the time, you are probably unaware of your heartbeat or rhythm. An average resting heart rate is sixty to a hundred beats per minute, and the heart has a characteristic rhythm when it beats. Unless your heart beats fast or forcefully, you may not notice it beating. Heart palpitation is when sensing that your heart is beating irregularly. It may feel like banging, pulsing too quickly, or pounding. Typical reasons for heart palpitations include exercise, stress, and certain medications. Stimulants, including caffeine, affect heart rate, but just how does it affect the heart?

Caffeine And Your Heart

One of the most investigated dietary ingredients is caffeine, and we know a lot about how it impacts the body. But the research exploring caffeine’s link to heart palpitations has been inconsistent, with some studies reporting a connection and others not. This situation is because, in healthy people, caffeine does not appear to cause heart palpitations. Still, some individuals may be more susceptible to the effects of caffeine and may experience cardiac symptoms such as palpitations.

Caffeine affects the heart in multiple ways. For instance, it promotes the release of noradrenaline and norepinephrine. Noradrenaline is a chemical produced by some nerve cells and in the adrenal gland; norepinephrine is a vasoconstrictor used as a vasopressor. First, these hormones increase heart rate and blood pressure. In addition, caffeine can act on enzymes that stimulate heart contractions, causing the heart to contract more forcefully.

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Are Palpitations Because Of Caffeine Consumption?

For many years, researchers believed that caffeine’s stimulant effects on the heart were responsible for heart palpitations. Recent investigation suggests that this is not necessarily the case. However, that doesn’t mean caffeine isn’t causing your heart symptoms and doesn’t vindicate caffeine entirely.

The body adjusts to the effects of caffeine. Therefore, it is unlikely that healthy people who regularly drink coffee will experience symptoms such as heart palpitations. However, caffeine can cause heart palpitations in people with caffeine sensitivity and those with an underlying heart condition.

If you are new to consuming caffeine or are used to drinking excessive amounts, you are more likely to experience cardiac symptoms. However, the only way to be sure is to visit a heart specialist for a checkup.

Caffeine Overdose Is Rare

Caffeine overdose is very rare. It generally implies high amounts of caffeine consumed in powder or tablet form, not drinks. The reason is simple; it is very complicated to get that much caffeine when drinking fluids because of the time it takes to consume them. The lethal dose of caffeine for most people is about ten grams, although this varies from person to person. A cup of coffee has approximately a hundred to two hundred milligrams of caffeine. An energy drink contains between fifty and three hundred mg of caffeine. A can of soda generally has less than seventy mg. Therefore, even with the most caffeinated energy drink, you would still have to drink about thirty of them in quick succession to reach the ten grams range.

If you tried to drink that many beverages with caffeine, chances are your body would halt you before reaching toxic levels. Most of the time, if individuals have severe signs of caffeine toxicity, it starts with nausea and vomiting. So that is somewhat protective because you get sick and throw up the caffeine before it gets too toxic. However, with caffeine powder or tablets, you may be ingesting a large amount simultaneously. One teaspoon of the powder has three thousand and two hundred mg of caffeine.

If you suspect a caffeine overdose, go to the emergency room, and report it to your doctor any caffeinated products you consumed before having symptoms. Your doctor may also monitor your breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure. In addition, they may check your temperature and undergo a urine or blood test to identify medications in your system.

Usually, there are no long-term health problems after treating caffeine overdose, but this situation can be life-threatening, especially for younger patients, such as infants and young children. Caffeine overdoses can also worsen pre-existing health conditions, such as anxiety. When the administration of the treatment is too late, it can result in irreversible health problems and even death. At the very least, you should call the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) if you suspect a caffeine overdose.

Treatment In Case Of Caffeine Overdose

The treatment for a caffeine overdose should be getting it out of the body while controlling the symptoms. You may need to take activated charcoal, a common drug overdose remedy that often prevents caffeine from entering the gastrointestinal tract. If caffeine has already entered your gastrointestinal tract, you may have to use a laxative or gastric lavage. Gastric lavage involves utilizing a tube to pump and wash out the contents of your stomach.

Your physician will likely choose the procedure that works fastest to get the caffeine out of your body. During this time, the doctor will monitor your heart through an ECG (electrocardiogram). You may also receive respiratory support when necessary.

Home treatment may not always speed up your body’s metabolism to eliminate caffeine. If you are unsure whether you need treatment, call your doctor or the Poison Control Department and describe your symptoms. If they say your symptoms are severe, you may need immediate treatment at your local hospital.

Importance Of A Heart Health Check

It is vital to get a medical screening if you have heart symptoms. Several heart conditions can cause heart palpitations, which include atrial fibrillation, mitral valve prolapse, mitral valve prolapse, congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and atrial flutter. Some of these conditions can be serious and may require treatment.

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This article does not provide medical advice. It is intended for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you need cardiovascular care, please call us at 832-644-8930.

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