Health Spotlight | A tasty way to treat atrial fibrillation

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Atrial fibrillation, called Afib, is the most common type of heart arrhythmia. Experts say 12.1 million people in the U.S. will have AFIB in 2030.

While treatments like beta blockers and blood thinners are ways to deal with it, there might be an additional treatment that doesn’t involve a doctor.

More than 5% of the population older than 65 have atrial fibrillation. But now the solution could be the drink we take in the morning, coffee.

A study by the American Heart Association found that drinking coffee may also prevent cognitive decline in people with Afib.

The magic number? More than four cups of coffee per day.

People who drank five cups daily had inflammation markers over 20% lower than those who consumed less than one cup daily. Three to five, eight-ounce cups of coffee per day can be part of a healthy diet. But there are also some downsides.

If you are a slow metabolizer, over two cups can prevent you from getting sleep at night. Coffee drinks like lattes and macchiatos can be very high in calories and sugar which may reduce health benefits.

In the study, scores for processing speed, coordination and attention improved by as much as 11% among coffee consumers compared to non-consumers.

This story is from a script aired on WISH-TV. This story was formatted for WISHTV.com using AI-assisted tools. Our editorial team reviews and edits all content published to ensure it meets our journalistic standards for accuracy and fairness. Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.

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