Coffee Effect on Blood Pressure

Statement of the Problem

"Does coffee affect a human's blood pressure"

Background Information

There have been studies that show that blood pressure does increase on people who never drink caffeine in their beverages. No blood pressure changes have been found in people who regularly drink caffeine. So People with high blood pressure can drink coffee. The studies where conducted by the Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases and a study published in the British Medical Journal. This is a fourth grade science project that was conducted by my son.

Hypothesis

I think that a person's blood pressure will increase after they drink coffee.

Materials

1. Three family members to have their blood pressure tested
2. A coffee machine
3. Coffee that is already ground (I used Volcanica Coffee)
4. A blood pressure testing machine (found at a local Wal-Mart store or drug store)

Procedures

1. Make your coffee make sure you measure how much coffee each tester’s get it should be around 10 ounces for each tester
2. Then measure your blood pressure (make sure you measure your blood pressure before your drink your coffee)
3. Record your measurements for Systolic, Diastolic and pulse
4. Have your tester’s drink the coffee
5. After all your testers finished drinking there coffee go back to the blood pressure reader and see if each tester’s blood pressure was raised or lowered
6. YOUR ALL DONE!
    

Data and Observations

Conclusions

In conclusion my hypotheses was wrong, coffee does not increase blood pressure. During the experiment, two of the testers had no increase to their blood pressure and one of the tested actually experienced a decrease in blood pressure.

Recommendations

If this test would be repeated, I would test people with high blood pressure and see the effect. I would also do test’s with caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee to see if there would be a blood pressure effect.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my mom and grandma for being my testers. And a special thanks to my dad for technical support and for being one of my testers. I also want to thank Wal-Mart for supplying the blood pressure tester.

Bibliography

Internet, Encyclopedia, Book, Interview

Internet

“Does Coffee/Caffeine Consumption Contribute to high Blood Pressure?”, Matt Pitcher, http://www.ineedcoffee.com/03/bloodpressure/

Encyclopedia

“Caffeine”, Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2003, 2003

Book

Blood Pressure, Mayo Clinic Family Heath Book, New York, 1990, page 798.

Disclaimer
The information on this page is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information was gathered purely as a fourth grade science project and the information should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment. Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition.