Drinking green tea on a daily basis is associated with improved cardiovascular health for stroke and heart attack survivors, according to new findings published in Stroke. In the same study, researchers determined that drinking coffee can improve all-cause mortality across the board, making an especially significant impact on myocardial infarction (MI) survivors.
“There is a strong need for scientific evidence on the lifestyles among survivors of stroke and heart attack considering the rapidly aging population and the need to improve life expectancy following these cardiovascular events,” corresponding author Hiroyasu Iso, MD, a professor of public health at Osaka University in Japan, said in a prepared statement.
The analysis included data from more than 46,000 patients from one of 45 communities throughout Japan. While nearly 500 patients were stroke survivors, more than 1,200 patients were MI survivors. The remaining patients had no history of MI or stroke. Information on each participant’s dietary habits was obtained through self-administered questionnaires.
Overall, stroke survivors who regularly drank at least seven cups of green tea each day were able to lower their risk of all-cause mortality by roughly 62%. A similar trend was observed among MI patients, though it did not extend to patients without a history of stroke or MI.
Meanwhile, drinking a daily cup of coffee helped reduce all-cause mortality among MI survivors by as much as 22%. Even patients with no history of MI saw their risk of all-cause mortality drop by approximately 14%.
The authors emphasized that some individuals who drink tea or coffee risk consuming too much sugar.
“An important distinction to make is that in Japanese culture, green tea is generally prepared with water and without sugar,” Iso said. “Additionally, coffee is prepared with water and occasionally milk and sugar. The healthiest way to prepare these beverages is without an unnecessary amount of added sugars.”
The full Stroke study can be read here.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.