Regular coffee consumption is associated with a significantly lower risk for arrhythmias, according to a study presented recently as part of the Heart Rhythm Society online meeting: HRS 2020 Science.

Eun-Jeong Kim, M.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues investigated the association between habitual caffeine consumption and the risk for arrhythmia among 357,022 participants in the U.K. Biobank.

The researchers found that during 5.25 years of follow-up, there were 8,159 incident arrhythmias diagnosed (6,999 atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, 890 supraventricular tachycardia, 459 ventricular tachycardia, and 385 premature ventricular complex). Coffee consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk for arrhythmia (hazard ratios: one to two cups, 0.90; three to four cups, 0.86; five cups or more, 0.85) compared with no consumption. Each additional daily cup of coffee was associated with a lower incidence of arrhythmia (hazard ratio, 0.96). Except for premature ventricular complexes, there was a reduction in arrhythmia incidence observed for each subtype.

"Results should reassure patients and physicians of the low risks associated with regular coffee consumption, and we hope it will encourage providers to work directly with patients to determine and personalize their specific lifestyle factors, including caffeine consumption," Kim said in a statement.