It was previously thought that coffee had a large effect on our heart. To an extent this is still true, stories abound of people drinking upwards of 5 cups a day and having heart problems as a result. But it turns out the influence of coffee isn’t quite as dramatic as once thought.

One common thought pertained to coffees negative influence on irregular heartbeats, also known as cardiac arrhythmia. The change in the rhythm of the heart can raise your risk of stroke and heart attack, and coffee was determined to make them worse. New research, however, is turning this idea on it’s head. Instead, as the Huffington Post notes, coffee may offer cardiac benefits:

Sixty-one percent of participants reported drinking or eating more than one caffeinated item every day, yet the heartbeat monitors did not detect extra heartbeats in those who ingested higher amounts of caffeine. This led researchers to conclude that caffeine intake has little effect on heartbeat.

“We may unnecessarily be discouraging consumption of items like chocolate, coffee and tea that might actually have cardiovascular benefits,” study author Dr. Gregory Marcus said in a press release.

The research is still in it’s infancy, but coffee has shown many other benefits outside of the heart, even if the popular beverage doesn’t necessarily improve irregular heart beats, the idea that it makes them worse should be more thoroughly investigated before it spreads any further. Check out the full post for more details.

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