Scientists have come to the conclusion that a person with high blood pressure can drink coffee, but certain rules must be followed. Before that, it is important to consult with your doctor and find out what degree of hypertension occurs.
Coffee and hypertension
Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world, it is known for its invigorating effect, many are unable to get to work without drinking a cup of their favorite drink. But there are diseases in which it needs to be limited, or even excluded from their diet. Can I drink coffee with high blood pressure? This is an urgent question, since every 3 people have a history of hypertension.
Coffee is an invigorating drink, which means it can raise blood pressure. Many conclude that hypertensive patients should not use it. But this is not true, since it has already been proven that it is possible to drink coffee even for such sick people, without harm to health. With the right approach, moderate consumption of the drink, the work of the cardiovascular system will even improve.
Some time ago, doctors forbade people with high blood pressure to drink coffee, but over time, the effect of caffeine has been more studied, and categorical prohibitions have ceased to be practiced.
Today it is allowed to drink a flavored drink with high blood pressure. In addition, it was found that even in some hypertensive patients who use caffeine, the pressure from it decreases.
All this can be explained by the fact that the effect of coffee does not last long. Therefore, coffee with hypertension is compatible with judicious use. How much you can drink depends on the individual. A healthy person can consume 3-4 cups a day. But it all depends on the personal tolerance of caffeine and the medications that a person takes. The genetically determined response plays an equally important role.
The strength of the drink used can be different. One cup of the drink can contain 80 to 240 mg of caffeine. And instant coffee always contains more invigorating substance than natural coffee. Therefore, we can conclude that instant coffee is undesirable for hypertensive patients.
With hypertension, you can drink coffee only if you consult your doctor beforehand. In this case, the doctor will determine how much to consume per day.
It is important to take into account that this substance develops addiction, and if a person drinks coffee for a long time, then he is less sensitive to it. This means that if before hypertension he drank a lot of invigorating drink, then refusing it when diagnosing a disease can even harm.
Everyone can find out how sensitive their body is to caffeine. To do this, you will need to measure your blood pressure before drinking a coffee drink, and then 30 minutes, 1 hour and 2 hours after drinking it. And if the blood pressure has increased from 5 to 10 mm Hg. Art., it means that the body is sensitive to this drink. In this case, it is better to refuse it altogether.
Everyone, especially hypertensive patients, have their own "working" pressure, and this indicator is individual. And if he deviated from his norm for any reason, then coffee should be abandoned, since the drops are very dangerous. People with a high working pressure should not drink the drink.
Effect on blood pressure
Caffeinated drinks are dangerous for some hypertensive patients, as it can lead to a hypertensive crisis. In people with a history of high blood pressure, after drinking coffee, the following conditions are observed:
- excessive agitation;
- nervousness;
- a person reacts sharply to stressful situations;
- immediately after a cup of drink, a person may feel prolonged agitation, and then this state abruptly changes to severe fatigue;
- there is a decrease in sensitivity.
All of this is triggered by caffeine. It is a substance found in coffee beans and is used in the medical industry. Quite a lot of pain relievers contain it (Citramon, Copacil, Pharmadol). Caffeine is a powerful energy drink. It has been proven that it has a greater effect on the central nervous system than on the heart and blood vessels. This explains their stimulating effect and addiction to this drink.
Strong coffee can provoke a strong spasm of blood vessels, and although it will be short-term, it can even cause great harm to hypertensive patients. This leads to an increase in blood pressure. This is the kind of reaction you would expect when drinking a double espresso.
Another effect of caffeine on the body is the increased production of adrenaline. For a healthy person, this will help to increase efficiency, he has new strength. But adrenaline also increases blood pressure. At the same time, the pulse increases, as the heart begins to work harder. Caffeine affects the receptors of the myocytes, and because of this, the number of heartbeats increases to 120 beats per minute.
It should be noted that the active ingredient has a diuretic effect. That is why some people have the opposite effect of it - blood pressure decreases.
Studies have shown that older people who drink coffee in moderation for a long time have more elastic blood vessels than those who do not drink coffee at all, or drink a lot of it.
How to drink coffee for hypertensive patients?
Can I drink coffee with hypertension? Scientists answered this question in the affirmative, but at the same time you need to be careful and attentive to your health. There are certain rules that people with high blood pressure should follow:
- You should never consume caffeine on an empty stomach; this should occur after a snack. So the effect of it will be stronger, and this will lead to a jump in blood pressure. In addition, in the morning you need to drink a drink only 1 hour after the person got out of bed. It is in the morning that a portion of caffeine has a strong effect on the body.
- With hypertension, you should drink coffee no more than 2 times a day.
- After a hypertensive person has consumed a portion of an invigorating drink, he should not be in the heat, he should not start physical activity and should not make sudden movements. It is better for a person to rest a little after drinking coffee, take a walk in the fresh air, then there will be no dangerous consequences for hypertensive patients.
- People with high blood pressure should use only a natural (preferably freshly ground) product, you can not drink instant coffee. It contains more caffeine and a variety of chemicals.
- For hypertensive patients, it is recommended to drink a coffee drink with various additives, for example, milk, lemon, cream. This will help reduce the effects of caffeine. But it is important to put in less sugar, as it can also increase your blood pressure.
Decaffeinated coffee
Decaffeinated coffee is very popular today. And many consider this a good way out of the situation, but there is a nuance. In such a drink, everything is exactly invigorating alconoid, and although its content is small, it is dangerous for hypertensive patients. 
This effect is provided by the uncontrolled abuse of coffee.
A cup of this coffee product contains up to 14 mg of an invigorating substance. It is noted that such coffee contains many harmful impurities, because in order to purify the raw material from caffeine, a number of chemical reactions must be carried out. It also contains more fat.
Because of this, it is recommended that you drink a cup of good natural product rather than decaffeinated coffee. It is important to know when to stop in everything.If you want to replace coffee with a completely decaffeinated drink, then you can drink chicory - this is a natural product.
What to replace?
Many people who have given up caffeine claim that you can make another drink that is also great for invigorating. It is green tea with a nutty flavor. It needs to be ground and prepared in the same way as coffee - in a Turk. This tea allows you to calm the addiction that has developed from the frequent use of caffeine.
Among caffeinated beverages, you can drink cappuccino, mocha and others, in which there is less substance. In this case, it is necessary that the grains are coarsely ground.
Hypertensive patients need to drink coffee with lemon, it can even lower blood pressure, and also acts as an excellent immunostimulant. It should be noted that strong tea should also not be drunk with high blood pressure, as it contains even more caffeine. Therefore, it invigorates a person much faster. But this substance lasts longer, which is very dangerous.
There is no unequivocal opinion about whether it is possible to drink coffee for hypertensive patients. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the organism and the course of the disease. But many doctors are still inclined to believe that moderate consumption of weak coffee is even useful. It is important not to overuse it.
