Can’t get going without that morning cup of coffee? New research suggests that drinking your coffee daily may provide protection against heart disease for people 65 and older.

Researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Brooklyn College, state that people over 65 who had higher caffeinated beverage intake had lower risk of coronary vascular disease and heart mortality than did those with lower caffeinated beverage intake.

“The protection against death from heart disease in the elderly afforded by caffeine is likely due to caffeine’s enhancement of blood pressure”, said John Kassotis, MD, associate professor of medicine at SUNY Downstate.

The protective benefits were found only in people who were not severely hypertensive and no protective effect was found in patients under 65. No protective effect against stroke was found.

The conclusions were drawn by researchers studying data from the first federal National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study.

Caffeine may prevent heart disease in elderly