Heart News

Extra pounds may raise your risk of atrial fibrillation. Coffee won't!

In 2.3 million Americans, the small upper chambers of the heart (the atria) temporarily quiver rather than beating regularly. The blood that isn't pumped out of the heart due to this "quiver" can clot. If part of the clot becomes lodged in an artery in the brain, it can cause stroke.

An estimated 15% of strokes, 75,000 to 100,000 per year, occur in people with atrial fibrillation. The number of people with atrial fibrillation is rapidly rising in the US population.

Among 35,000 participants in a Women's Health Study, overweight women were 22% and obese women were 65% more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation than women of healthy weight. Women who started out as obese but lost the weight had no higher risk of atrial fibrillation than women who were never obese.

During the 13 year study, the prevalence of obesity jumped from to 24%. the increase in overweight and obese women together accounted for 18% of all new cases in atrial fibrillation.

In a separate study;, researchers found no higher risk of atrial fibrillation in people who consumed caffeine, even among those who took in 650 milligrams a day. For comparison, a 16 ounce grande coffee at Starbuck's contains 330 mg caffeine. A shot of espresso has 75 mg.

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