Caffeine induced high blood pressure.New research may put a damper damp·er n. 1. One that deadens, restrains, or depresses: Rain put a damper on our picnic plans. 2. An adjustable plate, as in the flue of a furnace or stove, for controlling the draft. on your favorite vice. Researchers examined the effects of caffeine combined with stress on medical students at risk for high blood pressure. The students, all regular coffee drinkers, were given grapefruit grapefruit, pomelo (pŏm`əlō), or pummelo (pum`məlō), citrus fruit (Citrus paradisi) of the family Rutaceae (orange family). juice with or without caffeine during two different medical school exams in a double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized ran·dom·ize tr.v. ran·dom·ized, ran·dom·iz·ing, ran·dom·iz·es To make random in arrangement, especially in order to control the variables in an experiment. crossover trial. The combination of caffeine and a stressful situation caused blood pressure to increase significantly, with 48% of participants registering average systolic Systolic The phase of blood circulation in which the heart's pumping chambers (ventricles) are actively pumping blood. The ventricles are squeezing (contracting) forcefully, and the pressure against the walls of the arteries is at its highest. readings of 140mm HG or higher. The authors concluded that individuals at risk for high blood pressure should avoid caffeine. Wouldn't you just love to know how those students performed when they were randomized to the no caffeine trial? (American Journal of Hypertension, 2000, Vol. 13, No. 5, Pt. 1, pp. 475-481) |
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