Drinking green tea or coffee reduces the risk of death by up to 62% for stroke and heart attack survivors

A cup of green tea or coffee every day can reduce the risk of death for heart attack or stroke survival and reduce the risk of heart attack in healthy people, a study found.

Researchers from Osaka University in Suita analyzed data from more than 46,000 participants aged 40 to 79 who were part of the Japan Consortium Study.

As part of the study, volunteers were asked to complete questionnaires on lifestyle, medical history and diet – including tea and coffee consumption.

When compared to people who rarely drink green tea, stroke survivors who eat at least seven cups a day had a 62 percent lower chance of having a stroke.

The study also found that people who drank one cup of coffee per day were 22 percent more likely to die if they had a stroke compared to non – coffee drinkers.

Lead author Hiroyasu Iso said this was a speculative study and did not investigate why green tea and coffee reduce the risk of death, so they could not explain the cause.

Previous research has examined the benefits of green tea and coffee on heart health in people without a history of cardiovascular disease or cancer, but this study was also able to study conditions in those with pre-existing conditions. .

Researchers were trying to find out what effect green tea and coffee consumption would have after surviving a stroke or heart attack.

‘There is a strong need for scientific evidence about lifestyles among the remnants of stroke and heart attack,’ says Hiroyasu Iso, a corresponding author study.

He said it was particularly important ‘considering the rapidly growing population and the need to improve life expectancy following these cardiovascular events. ‘

This is where the Japan Cooperative Consortium Study came to help – with more than 46,000 participants, divided between those with a history of stroke, a history of heart attacks and those who did not have a history of each condition.

Each participant completed a series of questionnaires from 1988 – 1990, including information on their demographics, lifestyle, medical history and diet – including the amount of green tea and coffee. drinking.

The researchers analyzed their responses, along with information from 2009 as to whether any of the participants had died.

When compared to participants who did not drink green tea, stroke survivors who ate at least seven cups of green tea a day reduced their risk of mortality by about 62 percent. , look for them.

Those who survived a heart attack who drank one cup of coffee per day reduced their risk of death by 22 percent compared to those who did not drink coffee regularly.

People without a history of stroke or heart attack who ate one or more cups of coffee a week had an approximately 14 percent lower risk of overall death compared to non-coffee drinkers, the researchers found .

Consumption of green tea can prevent other cardiovascular events in sedatives, and drinking coffee can prevent such events even in healthy individuals.

They took a word of caution when comparing green tea in Japan with those consumed as part of a diet further west.

‘An important difference to make is that green tea is usually prepared with and without sugar,’ said Iso.

In addition, coffee is prepared with water and sometimes milk and sugar. ‘The healthiest way to prepare these drinks is without too much added sugar,’ he explained.

Researchers note that this study was observational, and the reason why drinking green tea and coffee could not explain the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Further research is needed to understand the details of the different effects of green tea and coffee.

The findings were published in Stroke magazine.