Caffeine risks and adverse reactions in hypertension:
Teas, coffee, cocoa and chocolate contains caffeine. Caffeine intake up to 300 mg per day is generally safe for healthy adults. Older patients or those with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, or cerebrovascular disease should avoid more than 1-2 cups of caffeinated beverages per day (no more than 100-200 mg of cafeine intake per day).
One cup of coffee contains on average, about 100 mg of caffeine. Each standard sized milk chocolate bar such as Hershey’s contains about 10 mg of caffeine, and each standard size dark chocolate bar contains about 31 mg of caffeine.
According to James J. E., caffeine, through its daily consumption from a variety of sources (coffee, teas, soft drinks, chocolate and medicines), may have an impact on cardiovascular risk due to caffeine’s ability to increase resting blood pressure (BP) in adults by about 4/2 mmHg (31). According to this author, this increase in BP may be responsible for a percentage of premature deaths, possibly as much as 14% for coronary heart disease and 20% for stroke (31).