Coffee Linked to Better Working Blood Vessels: Japanese Study Finds

Coffee drinkers out there have another reason to tuck into their daily cup of joe. A new study found coffee may perk up the blood vessels due to the effects of caffeine.

"This gives us a clue about how coffee may help improve cardiovascular health," lead researcher Masato Tsutsui, M.D., Ph.D., a cardiologist and professor in the pharmacology department at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan, said in a news release.

The study looked at 27 adults who did not regularly drink coffee. After this test group were offered coffee to drink, they found that drinking a cup of caffeinated coffee significantly boosts blood flow in fingers. According to the study, the researchers believe the blood flow in fingers reveals how well the inner lining of the body's smaller blood vessels work.

Two days later, the experiment was repeated with the other type of coffee. Neither the researchers nor the participants knew when they were drinking caffeinated coffee.

The new findings are set to be presented Wednesday at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Dallas.

These microvessels that reacted to the caffeine regulate the ease with which blood flows through the circulatory system and the body's tissues, said lead researcher Dr. Masato Tsutsui, a cardiologist and professor in the pharmacology department at the University of the Ryukyus, in Okinawa.

Researchers found that compared to decaffeinated coffee, caffeinated coffee slightly raised participants' blood pressure and improved vessel inner lining function. Researchers noted that heart rate levels were the same between the two groups.