Tea may dramatically reduce a person's chances of dying following a heart attack, a study suggests.
Researchers led by Dr. Kenneth Mukamal, MD, MPH, of Boston 's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said that they think properties found in black and green tea may be protecting the heart. Dr. Mukamal said that the results obtained were more dramatic than he had anticipated.
It was found that heavy tea drinkers in the study, defined as those who drank two or more cups of tea a day, had a 44% lower death rate following their heart attack, compared with non-drinkers. Meanwhile, those who were moderate tea drinkers had a 28% lower death rate after a heart attack.
The study's sample population consisted of 1,900 heart attack survivors who were asked about their tea consumption before their heart problem, and then followed them for up to four years.
The research studied the outcomes of the heart attacks and related them to tea drinking habits. Mukamal had expressed "excitement" that tea might be able to lower heart attack deaths. Researchers said there's good reason to believe it's the flavonoids -- antioxidants found naturally in various foods derived from plants -- that are protecting the heart by relaxing the blood vessels so blood can flow more easily. There's also evidence to suggest flavonoids may prevent LDL cholesterol -- the so-called bad cholesterol -- from becoming really bad cholesterol.
However, Mukamal isn't just yet recommending that should everyone start drinking tea to avoid heart attack death. He adds though his hope that the research will lead to more studies to better find out the exact effect of tea on the heart.
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