Despite the belief that coffee can cause the heart to go into palpitations, a study indicates moderate drinkers may be at a lower risk of having heart rhythm disturbances。

　　盡管有人認為咖啡會導致心悸，但一項調查顯示適度的飲用咖啡會降低人們心律不齊的風險。

　　More than 130,000 men and women were studied. Those drinking four or more ，cups of coffee a day had an 18 per cent lower risk of going to hospital for heart disturbances。超過130000的男性和女性接受了調查。那些每天喝4杯或者更多咖啡的人，患心律不齊的風險比正常人降低18%。

　　Those who had drunk between one and three cups had a 7 per cent reduction of risk。而喝2到3杯咖啡的人，風險比正常人低7%。

　　Tony Blair has blamed his heart problems while he was prime minister on too much strong coffee during an EU conference - and doctors advised him to cut back。在一次歐盟會議上，時任首相的托尼布萊爾嗜好咖啡并被指責有心臟問題，隨后醫生建議他減少咖啡量。

　　He was suffering from atrial fibrillation, the most common form of heart rhythm problem. Left untreated, it can increase the risk of heart attack。

　　他患有最常見的心率問題：房顫癥。如果不治療的話，會增加心臟病發作的危險。

　　But the latest research suggests his doctors may have been wrong - and coffee may have had nothing to do with his irregular heartbeat。

　　但是現在最新的調查顯示，他的醫生可能是錯誤的-咖啡可能和他的心律不齊問題一點關系也沒有。

　　Lead investigator Dr Arthur Klatsky, a cardiologist at the Kaiser Permanente health insurance company, said the study did not conclusively prove coffee protects the heart - just that there was some sort of link。

　　Kaiser Permanente醫療保險公司的首席研究員，心臟病專家Arthur Klatsky大夫說：這項研究沒有最終證明咖啡能保護心臟-只是說明有一些聯系。

　　He said: 'Coffee drinking is related to lower risk of hospitalisation for rhythm problems, but the association does not prove cause and effect, or that coffee has a protective effect.'

　　他說：喝咖啡的確和降低心律不齊的風險有關，但是二者的聯系不是因果關系，或者不能說明咖啡就是有保護心臟的效果。

　　Dr Klatsky said he believed moderate doses of caffeine may help the heart by blocking the action of the chemical adenosine, which can cause disturbed rhythm。

　　Klatsky大夫說他 相信適量的咖啡因可以幫助心臟阻止能導致心律不齊的腺苷的化學行為。

　　But he warned that previous studies had indicated that excessive coffee consumption can increase the risk。

　　但他同時警告：之前的調查也說明過量飲用咖啡會增加患病幾率。