As a coffee lover i wanted to know for myself if there was any truth in the belief that caffeine was responsible for raising blood pressure...here's is what i found....
Although there is not enough evidence to show association between long term coffee consumption and increased BP, you might want to stay away from coffee just before planning on checking your blood pressure levels either at home or at your Doctor’s.
That is because caffeine can cause short but dramatic increase in your blood pressure levels. Research published in American Journal of Hypertension, has found that caffeinated coffee shows an acute increase in blood pressure and decaffeinated coffee does not. The good news is that studies have revealed that increase in BP was observed in the first hour after the intake of coffee and lasted up to three hours only.
It did not appear to have any lasting harm to blood vessels.
Dr. Bailey, a Lawson scientist, is concerned about complicating diagnosis and treatment if the patient drinks coffee just before visiting their doctor.The rise in in blood pressure could lead to over-prescription of anti hypertensive drugs.
" Its impossible to feel your own blood pressure going up after a cup of coffee" says Lichtenstein, who is a professor of nutrition at Tufts University.
A good way to check how coffee and caffeine may be affecting your blood pressure, is to take check your blood pressure BEFORE drinking coffee and then check once again AFTER about 30 minutes to 1 hour of your intake of a cup of coffee. If your blood pressure increases by five to 10 points, you may be sensitive to the blood pressure raising effects of caffeine.
So don’t pick up that coffee on the way to your doctor’s or switch to the decaffeinated version if you must.