Good news for women who enjoy drinking coffee

Drinking coffee doesn't seem to cause long-term high blood pressure, a study suggests.

But for some reason, women in the same study who drank colas did seem to have a greater risk of high &to=http://english.pravda.ru/fun/2002/08/12/34262.html' target=_blank>blood pressure. Researchers were surprised at that and cautioned that the study wasn't conclusive.

Caffeine is a well-known ingredient in both beverages, and has been shown to cause short-term increases in blood pressure. But coffee drinkers in the study were no more likely than abstainers to develop high blood pressure during 12 years of follow-up.

Previous data on coffee and hypertension is mixed, but there's a common perception that its temporary effects on blood pressure mean an increased long-term risk, said Dr. Wolfgang Winkelmayer, the study's lead author and a researcher at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, reports Seattle Post Intelligencer.