Does Coffee Promote Atrial Ectopy?

Although many people believe that caffeinated coffee can cause cardiac ectopy, prior studies (mostly observational) have cast doubt on this alleged relation (NEJM JW Gen Med Aug 15 2021 and JAMA Intern Med 2021; 181:1185). In this randomized case-crossover study, 100 healthy adults (mean age, 39) without atrial fibrillation or heart failure wore continuous-recording electrocardiogram (ECG) patches and wrist accelerometers for 14 days. During this time, they were instructed randomly by text message to consume caffeinated coffee or avoid all caffeine during 2-day periods, resulting in 7 coffee-drinking periods and 7 no-caffeine periods. Participants pressed a button on their ECG patch when each coffee drink was consumed and filled out daily s…