How Caffeine Affects Your Blood Pressure
Published June 28, 2022
The effect of caffeine on your blood pressure is a long-standing controversy, which is all the more true for people who have high blood pressure (BP). As the answer is still not clear, it does pose a big question: Is your regular cup of coffee increasing your blood pressure? If yes, how bad is it?
Well, caffeine does increase your blood pressure. However, the effect is temporary. For many people, it doesn’t even cause that much of a spike. This is why it's essential to understand the difference between high blood pressure myths and reality.
In this article, we shall discuss everything from the mechanisms by which caffeine affects your blood pressure and how safe it is to drink coffee with high BP.
Is It Safe to Drink Coffee With High Blood Pressure?
Whether caffeine affects your blood pressure levels is still not truly confirmed. The reviews are mixed and need more research. In 2017, experts reviewed 34 papers on the topic and found out that consuming between 200-300mg of caffeine may cause an increase in systolic pressure by about 8 mm Hg and diastolic pressure by about 6 mm Hg (1).
The effect was found to be temporary. This was true for people with normal blood pressure as well as hypertensive people, though it depends on which stage of hypertension you suffer from.
In a 2021 study, it was found that consumption of 2-3 cups of coffee increases the systolic blood pressure by 3-14 mm/Hg and diastolic pressure by 4-13 mm Hg (2).
However, some studies argued that caffeine’s health benefits outweigh any potential negative effects—even in hypertensive people. As the results are pretty ambiguous, we still need more research to determine the effect.
Therefore, moderate caffeine intake regularly shouldn’t pose any long-term effect on your blood pressure, albeit with some temporary changes.
Does Quitting Caffeine Lower Your Blood Pressure?
Caffeine gives you a high after you take it. Whether it is in your regular cup of coffee, tea, or any sweetened soda, caffeine makes you feel energetic and rejuvenated. If your caffeine intake is too much, this continuous heightened state can take a toll on your body. The continuous adrenaline secretion can keep your BP elevated and put pressure on your heart.
Therefore, quitting caffeine may lower your blood pressure. It can help calm your nerves, reduce jitters, and improve your sleep quality. All these changes may help lower your blood pressure.
But then again, this is only true for people who show an increase in BP by 5-10 points within 30 minutes of drinking caffeine, but this is not true for all. For better intervention, it is important to understand the causes of hypertension. Here are some things that will help make managing hypertension much easier:
- Reduce your stress levels
- Reduce your weight
- Include more potassium in your diet in the form of vegetables
- Reduce the consumption of refined, canned, and processed food
- Cut down on your sugar intake
How Long Is Your Blood Pressure Raised After Caffeine?
As per research, an increase in blood pressure is observed after you take caffeine and occurs within 30 minutes. It peaks in 1-2 hours and slowly starts diminishing by 3-4 hours (3).
However, amongst regular coffee drinkers, this effect is diminished. This is due to the caffeine tolerance amongst them that diminishes the acute effect of caffeine on blood.
Drinks to Avoid if You Have Higher Blood Pressure
Caffeine is present in black tea leaves and coffee granules, but it is naturally present in cocoa beans and thus chocolate as well. Energy drinks often contain guarana extracts and caffeine. Therefore, if you want to limit your caffeine intake, it is advised that you:
- Limit your coffee to two cups a day.
- Limit your tea intake.
- Limit your energy drinks and chocolate.
It can be noted that drinks that contain high amounts of sugar, caffeine, or sodium can also spike your blood pressure. Other than that, if you have high blood pressure or hypertension, you need to cut down your alcohol intake. Regularly drinking too much alcohol will raise your blood pressure over time. Men and women are advised not to regularly drink more than 14 units a week. It is observed that cutting down your alcohol intake to recommended levels can lower your blood pressure by about 5 mmHg.
Avoid unhealthy drinks such as fruit juices with added sugar and sodas. Whether it is just the sweetened soda, diet soda, or 0-calorie soda, it is best to avoid them. The dangers of hypertension are many and potentially fatal.
The Impact of Caffeine on Your Blood Pressure
Caffeine does have an impact (temporarily) on your blood pressure by triggering certain biochemical reactions that can increase your blood pressure, and this is how this happens:
- Caffeine triggers the release of adrenaline from the adrenal glands causes the body to retain salt and water, which raises blood pressure.
- Caffeine activates the renin-angiotensin renal system, one of the major control systems for blood pressure and fluid balance.
- Caffeine also activates your sympathetic nervous system, which constricts the blood vessels and results in increased vascular resistance, causing the pressure to rise.
- Caffeine may also increase anxiety, and though there is much debate surrounding the topic, there may be a link between anxiety and high blood pressure.
Even though the effect of caffeine on your long-term blood pressure is uncertain, it's advised that you don't take the risk—especially if you are predisposed to hypertension.
There are many other factors that can cause high blood pressure aside from your diet. To learn more, take a look at our posts on diabetes and high blood pressure and obesity and high blood pressure.
Medical Disclaimer
Dario Health offers health, fitness, and nutritional information and is designed for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon. The information provided might not be accurate, full, complete, or effective. Accordingly, it is not intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment or as a substitute for professional medical advice. You are strongly advised to consult your physician or qualified health professional regarding your condition and appropriate medical treatment. Individual symptoms, situations, and circumstances may vary.
Resources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5445139/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8538539/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21880846/
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