Green Tea and Heart Attack

Population studies have suggested that drinking green can tea reduce heart disease risk, although scientists still do not understand the mechanisms behind these observations.

A 2002 study conducted by the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston interviewed 1,900 patients, on average, 4 days after they had heart attacks.

The patients, who were mainly in their 60s, were grouped into non, medium and heavy tea drinkers. They drank either black or green tea.

Researchers found that heavy drinkers, who drank more than 15 cups a week, were 44% less likely to die compared to non tea drinkers. Medium drinkers, who drank less than 15 cups a week, were 28% less likely to die.

This green tea and heart attack study was published in Journal Circulation.

It is still in the early days, but there have already been quite a few green tea and heart attack/disease studies supporting tea's beneficial effects.

• The 2001 study by Peters provided a meta-analysis that suggested heart attack incidents reduced by 11% for every 3 cups of green tea consumed a day.

• The 1999 study by Sesso found that men and women from the Boston Area Health study who consumed one or more cups of green tea a day in the previous year had a 44% lower chance of getting a heart attack than those who drank no tea.

• A 1997 study followed 8,522 Japanese men and women over a period of 12 years. They found that men who drank 10 cups (about 32 ounces) of green tea a day had 58% lower risk of dying from heart attack compared to those who drank 3 cups or less.

• The 1995 study by Hertog followed 12,763 men from 7 different countries for 25 years. They showed that higher intake of green tea catechins to be associated with fewer deaths from coronary heart disease.

Imai K, Suga K, Nakachi K (1997). Cancer-preventive effects of drinking green tea among a Japanese population. Prev Med 6:769-775.

Hertog M et all (1995). Flavonoid intake and long term risk of coronary heart disease and cancer in the Seven Countries Study. Arch Intern Med 155:381-386.

Sesso H et all (1999). Coffee and tea intake and the risk of myocardial infarction. Am J Epidemiol 149: 162-169.

Peters U et all (2001). Does tea affect cardiovascular disease? A meta analysis. Am J Epidemiol 154:495-503.

Green Tea and Heart Heatlh

Green tea and heart studies have always been controversial and conflicting. But increasing scientists are uncovering evidence of its real benefits.

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