Concern Over Coffee and Heart Attack

QUESTION: I have been a heavy coffee drinker for years, seven to eight cups a
day, but after a recent heart attack, my doc nixed my favorite beverage. I
must confess I have been sneaking a cup or two each day, but my wife is
concerned that I am doing real injury to myself. I need your advice, but if
the answer isn't an O.K. I'll probably hide your column!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANSWER: It doesn't seem as if you are going to give up your coffee, no matter
what I write, but I am pleased to calm some of your doubts, and relieve some
of the guilty feelings I sense. This has long been a subject of discussion,
for the physicians who prohibit the use of coffee as well as tea and cola for
their heart patients are concerned that the caffeine contained in these
beverages may stimulate the heart to beat in an abnormal or irregular fashion.
In the presence of previous heart injury, this could provoke complications
that can become real problems. It is a legitimate concern, but there is a
growing amount of evidence which seems to show that the danger is more
theoretical than real. It is true that the more you drink the more likely
that you will affect the beat, and certainly I can't recommend or condone 7 to
8 cups a day, but I believe I am on safe grounds when I admit that 1 or 2 cups
a day won't hurt you. The stress of sneaking the coffee is probably doing you
more damage than the coffee. However, if you do continue to drink your daily
quota, you do owe your physician a confession so that he can properly assess
your cardiac condition in the presence of the caffeine, and continue to
counsel you.