Caffeine Limits Blood Flow to Heart Muscle During Exercise

Results suggest that coffee may impair peak heart function

BETHESDA, MD -- January 13, 2006 -- In healthy volunteers, the equivalent of two cups of coffee reduced the body's ability to boost blood flow to the heart muscle in response to exercise, and the effect was stronger when the participants were in a chamber simulating high altitude, according to a new study in the Jan. 17, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.