HealthWrap: No decaf on roller coasters

Decaf coffee may be a heart-disease risk -- and if you already have heart disease, roller coasters definitely are.

That's the upshot of two new studies. The second seems fairly obvious, but the first is counter-intuitive; while some studies have suggested a link between coffee and heart disease and others have not, none zeroed in on decaf as a possible culprit.

But the study showed that after three months of drinking three to six cups a day, the decaf group had an 18-percent rise in fatty acids, which can raise bad cholesterol. Those who drank regular coffee, or no coffee at all, did not experience an increase.

"These results are very surprising and have never been reported before for coffee consumption," said Dr. Robert Superko, lead study author and a cardiologist at the Fuqua Heart Center in Atlanta.

"There is a real difference between caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee," Superko said. "Contrary to what people have thought for many years, I believe it's not caffeinated but decaffeinated coffee that might promote heart disease risk factors that are associated with the metabolic syndrome, an expanding heart-health hazard."

He said decaf might be less healthy because it is made from beans with more flavor and also more oils. But he and others who commented on the study said one-or-two-cup-a-day drinkers of should probably not think twice about either decaf or regular.

The roller-coaster study, also presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Dallas, found that the twists, turns and temporary terror might set off an irregular heartbeat that, as the doctors delicately put it, "could put individuals with heart disease at risk of having a cardiovascular event."

"Individuals who have suffered a heart attack, have heart disease or irregular heart rhythms should not ride a roller coaster," said Dr. Jurgen Koschyk of the University Hospital in Mannheim, Germany. "The rising heart rate in riders with pre-existing heart disease could result in heart attack, irregular heart rhythms and possibly sudden cardiac death."

How did the researchers determine this without putting anyone with a bum ticker on a roller coaster and watching them clutch their chest? The study used 55 healthy volunteers -- average age 28 -- and determined that some had an increased heart rate that could trigger arrhythmias in people at risk.

"For young healthy people there is no risk for heart attack and arrhythmias from riding a roller coaster," said Koschyk. But ixnay on the contraptions if you have heart disease, a previous heart attack or use a pacemaker or defibrillator.

Another new study found how roller coasters -- or whatever else sends chills down your spine -- inspire fear. A gene concentrated in the amygdala -- a part of the brain that processes fear and anxiety -- seems to be a key.

"This is a major advance in the field of learning and memory that will allow for a better understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, borderline personality disorder and other human anxiety diseases," said Rutgers geneticist Gleb Shumyatsky.

"It will provide important information on how learned and innate fear is experienced and processed, and may point the way to apply new therapies."

Meanwhile, try decaf.

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