My Heart Attack Was Just Caffeine
The science behind America’s obsession with coffee.
A bad day
I called the Nurse Line from work with symptoms: chest pain, trouble breathing, dizziness. My vision was starting to blur. My speech was also unclear. Whatever that was, it happened fast. One minute, I am trying my co-worker’s espresso. The next, everything around me is spinning, and I feel like I will be sick.
After an assessment, she calmly told me to call an ambulance. I called my husband, instead. I remember my exact words: “This is not a joke, and I am not exaggerating. I think I am going to die. I love you. Can you come immediately and take me to the E.R.?” He did.
The events after that phonecall are hard to recall. I know I was at the hospital. I heard a nurse getting annoyed that I seemed to be gagging. My husband tried to answer questions directed at me. I was in and out of consciousness. I thought of my babies — a six-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy. And suddenly, the bitter taste in my mouth gave me a clue. I muttered, “I had too much coffee.”
Coffee brews productivity (no pun intended). Productivity brews success. Therefore, coffee is a symbol of success.
The nurses did not accept my explanation. My labs came back. I had low potassium, but that was unrelated. Everything else seemed normal despite the severe arrhythmia I had just experienced. They were puzzled. After hooking me to an IV device for hydration, they told me I would be ok. I took a nap. I thought about Davis Cripe, the teenage boy who died after drinking coffee, Mountain Dew, and an energy drink within a few hours.
He was too young to know better. I was not. I hoped they were right, and I was going to feel better soon. At that moment, my whole life was flashing through my mind. My brain took me back to the past and then to an image in the future. In it, my kids tell their friends that their mother died of stupidity.
My husband woke me up when the doctor walked in. I had been at the hospital for five hours, although it felt like ten minutes. My mouth was dry, and I felt exhausted but somehow wired. He talked, but I couldn’t listen. He was confused. Asking when my symptoms started and if I ever had anything like that happen before, I answered: “I had four strong cups of coffee within two hours.” It was his answer: “That explains it. You had a caffeine overdose.”
Coffee is a lifestyle.
America has a coffee obsession. The beverage is not just something you drink. It is a way of living. People are proud to announce they need it in the morning before they can function. Also a badge of honor is to be an all-night-puller, wired by caffeine, for the sake of efficiency. Memes and quotes about the importance of coffee in people’s lives are everywhere, from the mugs we drink from, to t-shirts and pajamas.
“We want to do a lot of stuff; we’re not in great shape. We didn’t get a good night’s sleep. We’re a little depressed. Coffee solves all these problems in one delightful little cup.” Jerry Seinfeld
The coffee culture in American society has evolved thanks to marketing. Anthropology blog Scientific American tells the story: only a couple of generations ago, young people looked down on coffee drinkers. It was considered an old folks’ beverage. Besides, the imported beans’ prices were high. That was due, in part, to the 1975 frost in Brazil. Speciality coffees were born to justify the premium cost to the consumer. With the younger in mind, sales marketers set out to change people’s image of coffee. From “dad’s morning drink,” the goal was to make coffee a symbol of status and success. It worked. Nowadays, young coffee lovers not only buy their ground beans at the grocery store: they order cups with customized flavors and the preferred number of espresso shots directly from a Starbucks phone app. That’s quite an evolution.
Look around when visiting any busy American city, and you will see many people drinking coffee while driving, walking, taking a train, or sitting at the park. In America, our excessive love of coffee is not just undeniable. It is part of our culture. Jerry Seinfeld came up with a T.V. show where he drives around with comedians, and they go to a coffee shop to chat. He talked about the choice to talk over coffee: “We want to do a lot of stuff; we’re not in great shape,” he said. “We didn’t get a good night’s sleep. We’re a little depressed. Coffee solves all these problems in one delightful little cup.”
The image of people in their 20’s and 30’s working from their MacBook Pros out of a Starbucks while drinking a latte or cappuccino is the perfect portrait of the millennial way of working or studying. The stores not only allow customers to sit around for as long as they want: it encourages it. When I was acting in Los Angeles, I briefly had a part-time job as a barista in Burbank. My customer service training included an understanding that people should be allowed to use the premises to read or work. They could stick around for hours without a refill — it was ok.
“We want our stores to be welcoming,” said my manager. My perception is, Starbucks wants to enhance the coffee shop culture that brought its success. It will not get upset if some clients aren’t big spenders. If making it look like they are there for the coffee, there will be enough sales.
It is no wonder coffee in America means accomplishment at a subliminal level. The consumption’s goal is for one to stay awake and alert. Also, to be efficient, even when tired. Coffee brews productivity (no pun intended). Productivity brews success. Therefore, coffee is a symbol of success. The more you drink it, the more successful you are.
Caffeine is a drug.
A piece featured in the American Psychological Association’s newsletter talked about grad students’ need for a coffee boost to push through school. The grueling task of meeting deadlines to produce papers needed to get their degree means something has to give, and it’s usually the student’s health. Coffee becomes the drug that will keep them awake and alert, forcing their bodies and brains to be active as long as there is another task to be completed.
“Caffeine is the most widely used drug in the world, consumed by some 80 percent of American adults every day. It’s probably safe to say that caffeine’s most popular vehicle, coffee, is a mainstay for many psychology grad students. A 2012 survey conducted on behalf of Dunkin’ Donuts and CareerBuilder showed that scientists drink more coffee than any other professional group except food workers.”
Because it is a drug, caffeine can cause dependence. When addicted, one might experience signs of withdrawal whenever they go too long without their coffee. According to Healthline, the most common symptoms are low energy, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. But they can be more severe, such as headaches, anxiety, and depressed mood. If you thought it was normal to feel exhausted without your daily cup, think again. It is not normal.
Caffeine is the psychoactive ingredient in coffee that causes dependence. Energy drinks and some sodas also contain it. Categorized as a stimulant, caffeine acts on the human body similar to nicotine, amphetamine, and cocaine. According to MedlinePlus, a government agency, this is the definition of stimulants:
“[Stimulants] are drugs that increase your heart rate, breathing rate, and brain function. Some stimulants affect only a specific organ, such as the heart, lungs, brain, or nervous system.”
In agreement, the National Institute of Health published The Journal of Caffeine Research, declaring that coffee was a drug in 2013. The institute’s concern went further. It included sodas and energy drinks since adolescents, and even children consume those:
“(…)these beverages allow consumers to drink large quantities of caffeine in a relatively small number of servings. Research suggests that this level of consumption can produce Caffeine Intoxication (…), resulting in serious adverse health consequences and, in rare cases, death.”
As we mentioned before, it was a combination of soda, an energy drink, and coffee — three different caffeine sources, which caused Davis Cripe’s death.
Conclusion
I was lucky. What I experienced was not a heart attack and not enough caffeine to kill me. It just made me very sick and scared. The episode taught me a lesson: enjoy your drink, but in moderation. I never thought that applied to coffee.
The challenge about that is to spread the word. People resist the idea of coffee being dangerous. Despite scientific research (in medicine, psychology, and anthropology), cultural obsession is intense.
I still drink coffee — a small cup, occasionally. I am not trying to give it a bad reputation by sharing my story. Although I am always searching for an answer to this question: can America use moderation when it comes to its love of coffee and its association with success? If so, that would reverse the trend of dangerous excess and let the beverage remain a pleasure.
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