Caffeine and Blood Pressure

Does Caffeine Increase Blood Pressure?

Caffeine and blood pressure. Is there a connection?

There might be a small connection between caffeine and blood pressure, but it's hard to tell what causes an increase.

There are two types of blood pressure, systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. High caffeine intake can raise both.

Systolic pressure is when your heart pumps blood. This is when blood pressure is the highest.

Diastolic pressure is when your heart is at rest. This is the pressure in between heart beats.

A lot of research has shown that normal caffeine intake will not produce long term high blood pressure, or an increase in heart disease or heart attacks.

If you don't normally have high blood pressure, an intake of caffeine might be able to raise it for a short period of time.

3 cups of coffee will normally supply you with 300 mg of caffeine. That is recognized as a daily limit. You should try not to consume more than that.

However, this safe amount can still cause a short increase in blood pressure. If you already suffer from high blood pressure, you should try and avoid high dosages of caffeine.

Remember, coffee is not the only thing that has caffeine in it. There's caffeine in soda pop, tea, chocolate, supplements and many other foods. It is important to read food labels.

There may also be a connection between high blood pressure and caffeine depending on how often you consume it. Most people who drink a lot of coffee have higher blood pressure than those who don't consume caffeine.

What usually happens is that a tolerance is built. You might have experienced this before. That one cup of coffee in the morning isn't working anymore. Soon it turns into 2 cups, and some people consume caffeine all day long.

With building a tolerance there isn't a big connection between long term high blood pressure due to caffeine, but those who consume caffeine generally have higher blood pressure than those who don't.

Building a tolerance to caffeine can be hard to crack. If you look at all the things you eat during the day, you might be consuming much more than 300 mg of caffeine. Over time you build a tolerance to caffeine.

The best approach to reducing your caffeine is a slow one. Going cold turkey with caffeine might produce headaches. Reduce your caffeine intake over a few weeks.

Moderation looks like the key to minimizing any harmful cardiovascular effects or negative relation between caffeine and blood pressure.

Bottom line, caffeine intake will not produce long term high blood pressure, or an increase in heart disease or heart attacks. This is what most research concludes.