Does drinking green tea affect the risk of heart disease and stroke?

This paper reviewed whether drinking green tea can affect risks of heart disease. The authors concluded that drinking green tea could have beneficial health effects. 

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the narrowing or blockage of blood vessels which can lead to heart failure or stroke (the loss of brain function due to a disturbance in blood supply  in the brain). A diet high in salt and fats has shown to increase the risk of CVD. Green tea is a drink that has antioxidant properties (may prevent cell damage). It is also reduces the risk of atherosclerosis (build-up of fat in blood vessels). Studies looking at the impact of green tea on CVD have given varied results. Thus, analysing these various studies can give a better understanding of green tea’s effect. 

9 clinical trials of 259267 patients were analysed.

Those who never consumed green tea were 1.19 times more at risk of CVD than those who consumed on average less than 1 cup of green tea a day. Those who never consumed green tea were 1.24 times more at risk of an intracerebral hemorrhage (stroke due to bleeding in the brain).

Patients who drank 1-3 cups of green tea a day had a 19% lower risk of a heart attack and a 36% lower risk of a stroke compared to patients who drank less than 1 cup of green tea a day.

Patients who drank 4 or more cups of green tea a day were 32% less at risk of a heart attack than patients who drank less than 1 cup of green tea a day.

Patients who drank 10 or more cups of green tea a day had lower levels of LDL cholesterol ('bad' cholesterol which increases risk of CVD) than patients who drank less than 3 cups of green tea a day. 

The authors concluded that drinking green tea was associated with a lower risk of heart and blood vessel related diseases. 

Consider drinking green tea as a healthy beverage to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.