Cardiovascular health

Factsheet for professionals

Cardiovascular disease – still the biggest killer

• Diseases of the heart and circulatory system, cardiovascular disease (CVD – heart disease and stroke), are the main cause of premature death in Europe, accounting for over 4.3 million deaths per year¹.
• Just under half of these deaths from CVD are from coronary heart disease (CHD) and nearly a third are from strokes.
• CVD is projected to remain the single leading cause of death and, by 2030, almost 23.6 million people will die from CVD².
• CVD cost the healthcare systems of the EU €192 billion Euros every year³.

Coffee consumption and cardiovascular health

• Scientific studies show that regular moderate coffee consumption is not associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease; in fact, a small negative association has been seen in women⁴.

• Moderate coffee consumption has been linked to a reduced risk of stroke only in women. This association is stronger in former smokers and non smokers⁵.

• Any effect of moderate coffee consumption on blood pressure is relatively small and it appears any effects may be due to substances other than caffeine in coffee⁶.

• Coffee’s effect on cholesterol levels is largely dependent on the method of brewing. Boiled, unfiltered coffee raises total and LDL cholesterol; this is not the case with filtered coffee because the cholesterol-raising compounds in coffee, e.g. cafestol and kahweol, are retained in the paper filter.

• The mechanisms underlying the associations seen between coffee consumption and reduced risk of stroke and potential associations with risk factors for coronary heart disease need further investigation. It is unlikely that caffeine is solely responsible for these effects. Other coffee constituents, such as polyphenols, soluble fibre and potassium, may be involved.