ZocdocAnswersDoes coffee affect a person's blood pressure?


Does coffee affect a person's blood pressure?

My doc says I have slightly high blood pressure. I drink a lot of coffee. Does that make your blood pressure go up or am I okay to keep drinking coffee?


Blood pressure is affected by many aspects of your lifestyle and general health. The vast majority of people that have high blood pressure have what we call essential hypertension. This is basically a term that says "you have high blood pressure, but we are not sure why". With that said, even people with essential hypertension can lower there blood pressure without medication. As you know coffee contains caffeine which is a stimulant. Many stimulants like caffeine can raise your blood pressure. For those that consume moderate amounts of coffee, blood pressure is probably only moderately effected. However, those that drink a lot of coffee (such as yourself), probably do have higher blood pressure than you would if you did not consume any coffee at all. Plus, large amounts of caffeine consumption can also harm your sleep. Getting inadequate sleep can also make your blood pressure higher. I suggest that you schedule a appointment with your primary care physician for a blood pressure check. The two of you can discuss your caffeine consumption and other aspects of your life style that may be effecting your blood pressure. You can than discuss the lifestyle and medication treatment options so that you have all the information before you decide how you would like to proceed.

