Younger people also are more sensitive to coffee’s blood-pressure effects.

Their conclusions: Coffee raises blood pressure in people who don’t drink it regularly. It did not raise blood caffeine levels, but it boosted the average systolic blood pressure of the nondrinkers by 12 mm Hg, virtually as much as the high-test brew.” The decaffeinated espresso proved the point. “But the disparity between espresso and pure caffeine suggests there is more to the story. Harvard says there are hundreds of substances in coffee, and caffeine is usually the one named as raising blood pressure. Moreover, the coffee drinkers and the nondrinkers responded similarly to intravenous caffeine.īut there was an anomaly. But the straight-up caffeine had a much smaller effect on blood pressure than the espresso, boosting systolic blood pressure by an average of just 6 mm Hg. Indeed, blood caffeine levels rose to the same degree after the caffeine injections and the espresso. In those who didn’t drink coffee, it raises systolic readings 13 mm Hg on average and diastolic by 7 mm Hg.Įspresso is strong stuff, but an intravenous slug of caffeine should be even more potent. A TRIPLE ESPRESSOĪ triple espresso did raise blood pressure readings except in the habitual coffee drinkers. The researchers monitored each volunteer’s blood pressure, heart rate, and sympathetic nervous system under four conditions: before and after drinking a triple espresso, before and after drinking a decaffeinated triple espresso, before and after receiving 250 mg of caffeine by intravenous injection, and before and after an intravenous placebo (salt solution). It has become so accepted that caffeine raises blood pressure, that doctors advise avoiding caffeine before having your blood pressure checked because it may raise it enough to falsify test results.īut what is the evidence for caffeine raising blood pressure? Harvard Medical School reports that researchers from the United States and Switzerland studied 15 volunteers who didn’t have high blood pressure and were nonsmokers. Some have found that it does, and one 1987 Italian study actually found that caffeine lowers blood pressure, Harvard Medical School reports.

Scientists, of course, have researched whether caffeine raises blood pressure. If you lift weights or do physical labor and have high blood pressure, avoid caffeine before engaging in those activities, Mayo Clinic says. While the amount of caffeine varies a lot in coffee, Viter Energy Mints contain 40 milligrams. That equates to about two 12-ounce (355 ml) cups of coffee or five Viter Energy Mints. He may advise you to cut back and have no more than 200 milligrams of caffeine per day. To avoid withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, irritability and fatigue, cut back over several days.Ī doctor can tell you whether to stop taking caffeine or limit your intake of it if you do have high blood pressure. An increase of five to 10 points indicates you are sensitive to caffeine, and you should cut back on it, Mayo Clinic says. To test whether caffeine has an effect in raising your blood pressure, check it between 30 and 120 minutes of ingesting caffeine. It seems that caffeine has a stronger blood pressure increasing effect in men who are older than 70 or who are overweight. As a result, caffeine doesn’t have a long-term effect on their blood pressure. Others who regularly drink caffeinated beverages develop a tolerance to caffeine. Some people who regularly drink caffeinated beverages have a higher average blood pressure than do those who drink none.

Of those with long-term blood-pressure increases, the article states: Others think that caffeine causes your adrenal glands to release more adrenaline, which causes your blood pressure to increase. Some researchers believe that caffeine could block a hormone that helps keep your arteries widened. It’s unclear what causes this spike in blood pressure. Of those with short-term blood-pressure increases, an article Mayo’s website states:Ĭaffeine can cause a short, but dramatic increase in your blood pressure, even if you don’t have high blood pressure. It’s also an important question because high blood pressure can cause strokes or heart attacks.Ī Mayo Clinic says if you have high blood pressure, ask your doctor if you should stop drinking coffee or taking caffeine in other beverages or products. This is an important question because 80 percent of Americans drink coffee every day and about 90 percent of people worldwide consume caffeine in one product or another. WHAT CAFFEINE DOES TO YOUR BLOOD PRESSUREĬaffeine appears to raise blood pressure, in some people in the short term and in others in the long term.

Does caffeine raise blood pressure