Coffee May Lower Heart Failure, Stroke Risk

Drinking a cup of coffee may help lower the risk of heart disease and stroke, in addition to providing a burst of energy, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2017.

Previous studies show that coffee has the potential to reduce the risk of mortality and colorectal cancer.

The investigators used machine learning to analyze data about eating behaviors and heart health from patients participating in the Framingham Heart Study. The authors also verified the results by conducting a traditional analysis of the results from the Cardiovascular Study and the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Studies.

The authors discovered that drinking coffee was linked to a 7% lower risk of heart failure and an 8% lower risk of stroke for each cup consumed weekly compared with non-coffee drinkers, according to the study.

Notably, these results were consistent across all 3 studies, according to the authors.

Although many risk factors for the conditions are known, the authors hypothesize that there may be many unidentified factors.

“Our findings suggest that machine learning could help us identify additional factors to improve existing risk assessment models,” said first author Laura M. Stevens, BS. “The risk assessment tools we currently use for predicting whether someone might develop heart disease, particularly heart failure or stroke, are very good but they are not 100 percent accurate.”

Through their study, the authors also discovered that red meat consumption may be linked to a decreased risk of heart failure and stroke; however, they caution that the link was less clear.

Red meat consumption was linked to a decreased risk of heart failure and stroke in the Framingham Heart Study, but these findings were difficult to validate due to differing definitions of red meat, according to the study.

The authors are currently conducting a study to determine how red meat intake may affect heart failure and stroke.

Additionally, the investigators developed a predictive model based on known risk factors, such as blood pressure, age, and patient characteristics, according to the study.

Overall, these results suggest that coffee is strongly linked to a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, but further studies are needed to determine the association between the conditions and red meat intake, according to the authors.

“By including coffee in the model, the prediction accuracy increased by 4%. Machine learning may a useful addition to the way we look at data and help us find new ways to lower the risk of heart failure and strokes,” said senior author David Kao, MD.