Does Creatine Cause Heart Palpitations?
Updated on August 6, 2025
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Creatine is an organic substance that the liver and kidneys synthesize from essential amino acids before transporting it to the muscles. The skeletal muscles store about 95 percent of the body's creatine supply for use during physical activity, with the rest traveling to the heart, brain, and other tissues.
Creatine supplements are available as powders, capsules, liquids, energy bars, and tablets to support people who exercise a lot or can't absorb dietary creatine. However, these supplements can have side effects, which very rarely include heart palpitations.
Heart palpitations involve a racing heartbeat that you might feel in your neck, throat, or chest. You might be uncomfortably aware of your heartbeat or feel like it has skipped beats.
Side Effects of Creatine: Does It Cause Palpitations?
People generally tolerate creatine supplements well, and it doesn't have links to any side effects that threaten health, according to a review published in 2025 of 685 human clinical trials comparing creatine with a placebo. Among the 12,839 people who took creatine in the studies, just 12 — around 0.09 percent — experienced palpitations. This was within the margin of clinical significance, meaning that the authors couldn't conclude that creatine increased the occurrence of heart palpitations.
Creatine's very low prevalence of side effects involving the heart may be due to the safe levels of creatine that stay in heart cells after a typical supplementation dose. A study on bodybuilders found that creatine only slightly interacted with heart rate and not in a harmful way.
Despite creatine's safety, some people may experience the following side effects more often than palpitations:
- Weight gain due to water retention
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Intense sweating
- Dizziness
If you notice any of these symptoms, taking smaller doses throughout the day, rather than consuming your whole daily dose at once, may help.
Creatine's Possible Heart Benefits
Limited research has suggested that creatine might provide the heart with additional energy in people with heart failure, in whom the heart muscle doesn't get enough energy. Creatine levels in people with heart failure also reduce significantly, leading some researchers to suggest that creatine supplementation may support improved function.
While more research is necessary, studies have found that creatine supplementation might help improve the quality of life, muscle strength, and endurance for people with heart failure. However, it doesn't seem to show direct improvements in heart function.
For this reason, some people with heart failure take creatine to support heart health. However, not enough solid evidence supports its use for treating heart failure.
Some studies in labs have found that extremely high concentrations of creatine might improve specific heart functions, such as the force with which it contracts or the flow of blood from the heart through the coronary artery. However, the dose a person would need to take is far lower that those used by these studies, and human studies are necessary to confirm this benefit.
Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers creatine to be a dietary supplement, it does not regulate it in the same way as medication. Creatine supplements may contain other harmful ingredients, drugs, or contaminants. Be sure to pick a product that's undergone testing from a third-party lab, as this can help ensure that you're consuming only the ingredients listed on the label.
The Takeaway
- Creatine supplements support people who exercise a lot or can't absorb dietary creatine, but can have rare side effects like heart palpitations.
- Although heart palpitations can occur, there's limited research on whether they're a direct result of creatine itself.
- If you notice these side effects, taking smaller doses of creatine throughout the day rather than one large dose may help.
- Check with your healthcare provider before taking any supplement, and make sure to pick a product that's been tested by a third-party lab to help ensure the accuracy of the ingredients.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- Creatine. Cleveland Clinic. April 26, 2023.
- Kreider RB et al. Safety of creatine supplementation: analysis of the prevalence of reported side effects in clinical trials and adverse event reports. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. April 8, 2025.
- Heart palpitations. MedlinePlus. April 9, 2024.
- Balestrino M et al. Role of Creatine in the Heart: Health and Disease. MDPI Nutrients. April 7, 2021.
- Creatine. Mayo Clinic. December 13, 2023.
- Dietary Supplements. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. October 1, 2024.
- Using Dietary Supplements Wisely. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. January 2019.
- Why is Third-Party Certification Important for Dietary Supplements? Uniformed Services University. May 29, 2024.
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