Can Green Tea Increase Your Heart Rate?

Mar 17, 2011 | By Linda Tarr Kent

Green tea will help you be more mentally alert and might help you reduce your blood levels of triglycerides and cholesterol. This antioxidant-rich beverage also might fight free radicals that contribute to the aging process and raise your risk for health issues like heart disease and cancer. Consult a doctor before adding green tea to your regimen because it can have many side effects, including raising your heart rate.

Caffeine

The same property that increases your alertness -- caffeine -- also raises your heart rate. Green tea has a 2 percent to 4 percent caffeine content. Caffeine stimulates your heart, nervous system and muscles by increasing the release of neurotransmitters, which are chemicals in your brain.

Risks

Consuming caffeine-containing beverages like green tea can trigger irregular heartbeats. If you have a heart problem, you should not use green tea, advise the experts at the University of Maryland Medical Center. If you have high blood pressure, also consult your doctor because green tea might worsen your condition.

Interactions and Side Effects

Drinking green tea or taking green tea supplements raises your risk for irregular heartbeat if you also use the monoamine oxidase inhibitor, or MAO inhibitor, selegiline. The caffeine in green tea also can raise your risk for high blood pressure if you take certain medications, including ephedreine, phenelzine, iproniazid, moclobemide and tranylcypromine. Along with raising your heart rate, the caffeine in green tea might cause nervousness, restlessness, insomnia, vomiting or gastric irritation and increased urination.

Caffeine Content

An 8 oz. serving of green tea has 30 mg of caffeine, compares with 135 mg in an average 8 oz. cup of brewed coffee and 36 to 46 mg of caffeine in a 12 oz. serving of cola. Health experts recommend no more than 400 mg caffeine per day if you are healthy, which is equivalent to about 13 cups of green tea.