Coffee lovers can enjoy their morning brew with the knowledge it could be helping them lower the risks of heart disease and early death.

New research from the Alfred Hospital and Baker Heart Institute in Melbourne suggests two or three cups of coffee a day is associated with living longer even variables like when variables like physical exercise and lifestyle factors are taken into account.

The massive study followed almost 400,000 people for more than 10 years.

Head of electrophysiology at the Alfred Hospital, Dr Peter Kistler, says it shows “coffee is definitely a good thing”.

“What we found was that regular coffee drinkers, particularly around the two to three cups a day, had an overall improvement in survival and reduction in heart disease including heart rhythm problems which are commonly thought to be triggered by coffee,” he told Ross and Russel.

“About 80 per cent of doctors tell people with atrial fibrillation to stop drinking coffee and there just isn’t medical evidence to support that.

“Absolutely, if you notice that when you have a coffee you feel your heart jittering, then coffee is not for you, but as a general rule people with A-fib should not be told to stop drinking coffee.”

Caffeinated coffee was found to have additional benefits which decaf did not have.

The benefits of drinking coffee were most pronounced among those who drink two to three cups a day, and no benefit was seen among those who drink more than five cups a day.

Press PLAY below to hear about the benefits of drinking coffee