Coffee Consumption Associated with Reduced Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence in New Clinical Trial

A new clinical trial presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2025 suggests that drinking coffee may actually reduce the recurrence of atrial fibrillation in some adults, challenging long-standing medical advice to avoid caffeine for heart rhythm conditions. The Does Eliminating Coffee Avoid Fibrillation (DECAF) trial enrolled 200 adults with AFib who typically drank about one cup of caffeinated coffee per day and were about to undergo cardioversion therapy to restore normal heart rhythm.

Participants were randomly assigned to either continue drinking at least one cup of coffee daily or avoid all caffeine for six months following their treatment. During the study period, 47% of participants in the coffee group experienced recurrent AFib or atrial flutter episodes lasting more than 30 seconds, compared to 64% in the no-caffeine group. This represents a 39% lower risk of recurrence among those who continued their coffee consumption habit.

The study's lead author Christopher X. Wong, formerly of the University of California, San Francisco and currently professor of cardiology at the University of Adelaide in Australia, explained the research motivation: "We conducted this study to assess whether caffeinated coffee increased or decreased the risk of AFib. Participants were randomly assigned to continue drinking at least one cup of caffeinated coffee daily or to avoid any caffeine for 6 months." The trial was conducted at five healthcare centers in the United States, Australia and Canada between 2021 and 2024.

Senior study author Gregory M. Marcus, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, noted that "our study results suggest that caffeinated coffee may not be responsible for raising the risk of AFib and may even reduce it." The findings were simultaneously published as a full manuscript in the peer-reviewed scientific journal JAMA, available at https://jamanetwork.com.

This research has significant implications for the more than 6 million Americans living with AFib, a condition that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications according to the American Heart Association's 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics at https://www.heart.org. The study challenges the common medical practice of recommending caffeine avoidance for AFib patients and suggests that moderate coffee consumption might be safe or even beneficial for some individuals with this condition.

However, researchers caution that the results apply specifically to people who already consume about one cup of coffee daily and may not extend to those who drink larger quantities or consume other caffeinated beverages like energy drinks. Marcus emphasized that "it is reasonable for health care professionals to let their AFib patients consider experimenting with naturally caffeinated substances that they may enjoy, such as caffeinated tea and coffee. However, some people may still find that caffeine or caffeinated coffee triggers or worsens their AFib."

The study participants had an average age of 69 years, with 71% being men and 80% self-identifying as white adults. All participants were followed for up to six months for recurrence of AFib or atrial flutter, with episodes verified by healthcare professionals or medical-grade electrocardiogram devices. The research adds to growing evidence about coffee's complex relationship with cardiovascular health and suggests that blanket recommendations against caffeine may need reconsideration for certain patient populations.