Effects of acute creatine supplementation on cardiac and vascular responses in older men; a randomized controlled trial.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized controlled trial
PubMed 39047868 · doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2024.07.008
What was done
Men aged 55 to 80 were randomly assigned to three groups: creatine supplementation (20 g/day for 7 days), placebo (7 days), or a control group. Vascular parameters (arterial pulse wave velocity, cardio-ankle vascular index, upstroke time, blood pressure) and resting cardiac function (stroke volume, contractility index, ejection fraction via impedance cardiography) were tested at baseline and on day 8.
What was found
Cardio-ankle vascular index improved only in the creatine group (8.7 ± 0.5 to 8.2 ± 0.5, p = 0.03). Non-significant reductions were seen in the creatine group for upstroke time (178.9 ± 26.5 ms to 158.4 ± 28.6 ms, p = 0.07) and right systolic blood pressure (144.0 ± 12.7 mmHg to 136.1 ± 13.4 mmHg, p = 0.08), with no changes in placebo or control groups. Cardiac responses showed no significant differences among the three groups for stroke volume (p = 0.61), contractility index (p = 0.64), or ejection fraction (p = 0.72).
Why it matters
This study provides preliminary evidence that short-term, high-dose creatine loading can reduce arterial stiffness in older men without adverse effects on resting cardiac hemodynamics.
Limits
The abstract omits the total sample size. There was a notable baseline age imbalance across groups (placebo mean 71.1 ± 8.2 years vs. creatine 61.4 ± 5.2 years and control 62.5 ± 7.1 years). The study was restricted to men, lasted only 7 days, and did not evaluate long-term outcomes or clinical cardiovascular events.
Cited by
- supports Studies by researchers including Eric Rawson and Mike Ormsbee showed creatine supplementation improved macro- and microvascular function in older adults.
- supports Creatine supplementation does not increase blood pressure or cause hypertension.