Myth-buster
A meta-analysis tied higher coffee consumption to a 48% greater odds of heart attack — yet the same review found it protective against stroke and arrhythmia.
This finding flips the usual narrative that coffee is mostly protective for the heart, but it comes from a tiny pool of just two studies and contradicts the review’s own results for other cardiovascular outcomes, so the picture is now contested rather than settled.
Pooling data from two studies, researchers found that people who drank more coffee had about 1.5 times the odds of having a myocardial infarction (heart attack), a statistically significant increase. However, the same review reported that higher coffee intake was linked to fewer strokes and fewer cardiac arrhythmias, and found no clear effect on coronary heart disease or heart failure — meaning the harmful signal for heart attacks sits alongside neutral and beneficial signals for other heart conditions.
Where this fits in the evidence
This is among the first studies we've indexed on Coffee for Reduced Myocardial Infarction Risk — treat it as an early signal until more research accumulates.
The study
- Meta-Analysis
- n = 2
- 2026-05-07
- BMC cardiovascular disorders
This is a plain-language summary of a research finding, not medical advice. Pillser surfaces research signals to help you decide what's worth investigating — always consult a qualified professional before changing what you take.