Gastroenterologist: Coffee in the heat creates a double load on the heart and provokes an exacerbation of gastritis
Quick Look
- Doctor Victoria Stepanova warns that drinking coffee in hot weather creates a double load on the heart due to dehydration and blood thickening, and can also provoke an exacerbation of gastritis and heartburn.
- It is recommended to limit consumption, drink after meals and dilute the drink.
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In the summer heat, drinking coffee puts stress on the heart. Victoria Stepanova, a gastroenterologist at the Scandinavian Health Center, told Gazeta.Ru about the dangers of this drink in conditions of high air temperature.
Drinking coffee speeds up the heart, blood vessels react, blocks the feeling of fatigue, and releases adrenaline. A healthy person in cool weather will hardly notice such effects, the specialist noted.
“In the heat, the body already loses a lot of fluid through sweat, the blood becomes more viscous, and it is more difficult for the heart to pump it through the vessels. Coffee works as a mild diuretic - the kidneys begin to excrete water more actively. This results in double dehydration,” Stepanova warned.
Blood thickening increases the risk of arrhythmia. If in a healthy person after a cup of espresso the pulse rises by 15-20 beats, then for people with borderline rhythm disorders such a shock is enough to provoke an attack.
“Coffee stimulates the production of hydrochloric acid and relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter. As a result, heat plus coffee plus light food with fatty or sweet foods is a typical scenario for a summer exacerbation of heartburn and gastritis,” the gastroenterologist added.
In the first half of the day and on an empty stomach, coffee can be especially aggressive, the doctor recalled. She recommended limiting consumption to one serving, drinking it after a large meal, diluting black coffee with ice and milk, and replacing fluid loss with water.
