Caffeine does not increase the arrhythmic burden in patients with heart failure and left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

Abstract

Commentary on: Zuchinali P, Souza GC, Pimentel M, et al.  Short-term effects of high-dose caffeine on cardiac arrhythmias in patients with heart failure: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med 2016;176:1752–1759. Caffeine is a major component of some of the most widely consumed beverages, such as coffee. The role of caffeine in arrhythmias has always been controversial and the impact of caffeine on patients at high risk of arrhythmias it is not established. This was a single-centre double-blinded randomised controlled trial (RCT) comparing the effect of caffeinated coffee (capsules with 100 mg of caffeine given hourly with decaffeinated coffee until 500 mg) and decaffeinated coffee (placebo lactose capsules) in patients with chronic heart failure (HF), New York Heart Association (NYHA) classes between I and III and left ventricular (LV) …