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   Drinking coffee, tea or chocolate does not appear to cause heart palpitations, heart fluttering and other out-of-sync heartbeat patterns, researchers reported Tuesday. 
   
   The report challenges a widely held belief that caffeinated drinks cause irregular heart rhythms that can lead to heart failure or dangerous heart rhythm disorders and is another vindication for coffee as a safe drink. 
   
   It might be time for doctors to lighten up on coffee, says Dr. Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist at the University of California San Francisco, who led the study. 
   
   "Clinical recommendations advising against the regular consumption of caffeinated products to prevent disturbances of the heart's cardiac rhythm should be reconsidered, as we may unnecessarily be discouraging consumption of items like chocolate, coffee and tea that might actually have cardiovascular benefits," Marcus said in a statement. 
   
   "We may unnecessarily be discouraging consumption of items like chocolate, coffee and tea that might actually have cardiovascular benefits." 
   
   "Given our recent work demonstrating that extra heartbeats can be dangerous, this finding is especially relevant." 
   
   It used to be believed that premature cardiac contractions, which usually cause no symptoms or mild symptoms such as heart palpitations, ‘skipped’ beats or fluttering, were harmless. But studies now show they’re associated with heart failure, atrial fibrillation and other dangerous conditions. 
   
   And doctors are widely taught that caffeine can cause these heart disturbances. 
   
   To check, Marcus and colleagues examined 1,388 people, with an average age of 72, taking part in a larger heart study. 
   
   About 60 percent said they drank some sort of caffeinated product every day. The team looked specifically at coffee, tea and chocolate and did not ask about super-caffeinated energy drinks. 
   
   They measured instances of premature ventricular contractions and premature atrial contractions. 
   
   They could not find any differences in instances of these heart disturbances, no matter how much coffee or tea or chocolate people had. 
   
   “Therefore, we are only able to conclude that in general, consuming caffeinated products every day is not associated with having increased ectopy or arrhythmia but cannot specify a particular amount per day,” Marcus and colleagues wrote in the Journal of the American Heart Association. 
   
   "Habitual coffee drinkers have lower rates of coronary artery disease." 
   
   They said it is possible that people who noticed heart flutters or other symptoms from coffee or tea may have cut back – they did not ask them. 
   
   But they also noted that it’s yet another finding in favor of moderate coffee drinking. 
   
   “Coffee is among the most commonly consumed beverages in the United States and is the main source of caffeine intake among adults,” they wrote. 
   
   “Regular coffee consumption has been associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and other cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity and depression,” they added. 
   
   “Furthermore, large observational studies have found that habitual coffee drinkers have lower rates of coronary artery disease and of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.” 
   
   The cutoff seems to be around five cups a day, and kids shouldn't be drinking too much caffeine. 
   
   Higher doses of caffeine can be deadly. The Food and Drug Administration has warned about sales of powdered caffeine, One teaspoon delivers as much caffeine as 28 cups of regular coffee. ||||| SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — A new study indicates that regular caffeine consumption does not contribute to heart palpitations or extra heartbeats, according to UC San Francisco researchers. 
   
   The results of the study, appearing in the January 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association, challenge the widely held clinical belief that caffeine products can lead to extra heartbeats. 
   
   The study measured the consumption of caffeinated products over a 12-month period by nearly 1,400 randomly selected patients who were part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Cardiovascular Health Study database of nearly 6,000 patients, though that sampling excluded individuals who persistently had extra heartbeats. The subjects were given a baseline food frequency assessment and 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography monitoring with the frequency of regular consumption of coffee, tea or chocolate determined by a survey. 
   
   “Clinical recommendations advising against the regular consumption of caffeinated products to prevent disturbances of the heart’s cardiac rhythm should be reconsidered, as we may unnecessarily be discouraging consumption of items like chocolate, coffee and tea that might actually have cardiovascular benefits,” said the study’s senior author, UCSF Health cardiologist Gregory Marcus, MD, MAS. “Given our recent work demonstrating that extra heartbeats can be dangerous, this finding is especially relevant.” 
   
   Of the 1,388 subjects participating in the study, 840 or 61 percent consumed more than one caffeinated product daily. 
   
   The researchers found no differences in the number of PACs (premature atrial contractions) or PVCs (premature ventricular contractions) per hour across levels of coffee, tea and chocolate consumption. More frequent consumption of these products was not associated with extra heartbeats. 
   
   “This was the first community-based sample to look at the impact of caffeine on extra heartbeats, as previous studies looked at people with known arrhythmias,” said lead author Shalini Dixit, a fourth-year medical student at UCSF. “Whether acute consumption of these caffeinated products affects extra heartbeats requires further study.” 
   
   American Heart Association guidelines on the management of premature ventricular contractions state that if a patient’s history is consistent with premature extra heartbeats, potential exacerbating factors such as the use of caffeine, alcohol and nicotine should be eliminated. Other online resources for clinicians offer similar recommendations. 
   
   Recent growing evidence indicates the potential benefits of common caffeinated products like coffee, chocolate and tea. The result is clinician uncertainty in counseling patients on consumption of these products, with patients possibly reducing their intake to avoid presumed cardiac issues. 
   
   The study is the largest to date to have evaluated dietary patterns in relation to extra heartbeats. ||||| Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email 
   
   Downing lots of coffee doesn't increase the risk of heart attack or stroke after all, according to a new study. 
   
   Researchers have found that regular caffeine consumption, contrary to current belief among medics, does not trigger potentially dangerous heart palpitations. 
   
   Extra heartbeats, while common, can lead in rare cases to heart or stroke-related deaths - but doctors say there's no such risk attached to downing coffee. 
   
   Instead, those behind the study suggest we could be harming ourselves by steering people away from the potential health benefits. 
   
   Senior author Dr Gregory Marcus, of the University of California, San Francisco, said: "Clinical recommendations advising against the regular consumption of caffeinated products to prevent disturbances of the heart's cardiac rhythm should be reconsidered, as we may unnecessarily be discouraging consumption of items like chocolate, coffee and tea that might actually have cardiovascular benefits. 
   
   "Given our recent work demonstrating that extra heartbeats can be dangerous, this finding is especially relevant." 
   
   Read more: World's first 'caffeinated toothpaste' will give that early morning buzz 
   
   Excessive premature atrial contractions (PACs) have been shown to result in atrial fibrillation, stroke and death, while excessive premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) may result in heart failure, coronary artery disease and death. 
   
   The researchers said both abnormalities have been tied to caffeine consumption through studies and trials, but these studies were performed several decades ago and did not use PACs and PVCs as a primary outcome. 
   
   (Photo: Getty) 
   
   But health guidelines state that if a patient's history is consistent with premature extra beats, potential exacerbating factors - such as caffeine, alcohol and nicotine - should be eliminated. 
   
   Other online medical resources for clinicians offer similar recommendations. 
   
   Recent growing evidence indicates the potential cardiovascular benefits of several common caffeinated products such as coffee, chocolate and tea. 
   
   (Photo: Getty) 
   
   Those findings have resulted in uncertainty among doctors when it comes to counselling patients on consumption of these products, with patients possibly reducing their intake to avoid presumed cardiac issues. 
   
   The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, analysed coffee tea and chocolate consumption of 1,388 randomly selected participants, excluding those with persistent extra heartbeats. 
   
   Of the total participants, 840 (61%) consumed more than one caffeinated product daily. 
   
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   The researchers found no differences in the number of PACs or PVCs per hour across levels of coffee, tea and chocolate consumption. 
   
   More frequent consumption of these products was not associated with extra heartbeats. 
   
   Lead author Shalini Dixit added: "This was the first community-based sample to look at the impact of caffeine on extra heartbeats, as previous studies looked at people with known arrhythmias. 
   
   "Whether acute consumption of these caffeinated products affects extra heartbeats requires further study."
target: – Add one more study to the "coffee is good for you" file. Contrary to the long-standing belief that caffeine may cause heart palpitations that can lead to heart failure, new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggests the claim is, well, rubbish. Researchers surveyed 1,388 people with an average age of 72 about their caffeine consumption, reports NBC News. Some 61% of participants said they consumed some amount of coffee, tea, or chocolate daily. After looking for premature ventricular and atrial contractions in the heart, scientists concluded there was no link between caffeine consumption and heart palpitations, heart fluttering, or other irregular heartbeat patterns, even among those who consumed a lot of caffeine each day. "Clinical recommendations advising against the regular consumption of caffeinated products to prevent disturbances of the heart's cardiac rhythm should be reconsidered, as we may unnecessarily be discouraging consumption of items like chocolate, coffee, and tea that might actually have cardiovascular benefits," says the lead author of the study from the University of California-San Francisco. Current AHA guidelines suggest that a patient with extra heartbeats avoid caffeine, which can worsen the problem, notes CBS San Francisco. Because "this was the first community-based sample to look at the impact of caffeine on extra heartbeats," the researchers say further study is needed, per the Mirror. (There's more good news if you drink three to five cups of coffee per day.)