Study aim: the purpose of this study was to assess the effect of 3 mg and 5 mg per kg of body weight of caffeine on heart rate, blood pressure and shooting performance among elite shooters.

Material and methods: sStudy participants comprised 8 male shooters among athletes at the national level with at least 2 years of experience, with the mean age (26.50±13.08 years), weight (73.02 ± 12.2 kg), height (174.62 ± 8.97 cm) and BMI (23.93 ± 2.88 kg/m2). The blood pressure and heart rate of all participants were measured at rest. Participants then randomly took caffeine (3 mg and 5 mg per kg of body weight) or placebo for 3 different days, 2 days apart. One hour after ingestion, they shot with rifle and air pistol. Statistical analysis was performed using the ANOVA with repeated measures and the Bonferroni test.

Results: the results of the survey showed that taking 5 mg/kg of caffeine caused a significant increase in systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.05) and also caused a significant increase in heart rate (p < 0.05) and a significant decrease in shooting performance (p < 0.05). Moreover, taking 3 mg/kg of caffeine caused a significant increase in systolic blood pressure (p < 0.05). But this amount of caffeine had no significant effect on the heart rate, diastolic blood pressure or shooting performance (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: the results of this study suggest that taking 5 mg/kg of caffeine can increase the blood pressure and heart rate of the shooters that leads to a decrease in shooting performance.