The Effect of Short-Term Creatine Supplementation on Cardiovascular System and Its Role in Aerobic and Anaerobic Fitness in Athletes

Currently, sport researchers try to identify the proper dietary supplements, that is essential for modern sports. Therefore, most professional athletes to maximize their performance, use these supplements. Creatine recognized as a supplement for enhancing the effectiveness of athletes. So, due to its widespread use among athletes, study of its possible positive or negative impact on the body is a necessity. The researcher in this study investigated the effect of short-term creatine supplementation on markers of cardiovascular risk factor after exhaustive exercise in elite karate athletes. For this purpose, 8 karate ka athletes (age 21.0±5.1 yr., weight 71.2±9.6 kg, height 180.4±4.7 cm) participated in the study, voluntarily. Study method was double-blind. Cardiovascular and respiratory data were gathered by incremental exercise test on treadmill with gas analyzer system and cardio screen at rest and Wingate test, before and after creatine supplementation. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software and repeated measure technique. Subjects consumed 20 grams of creatine or placebo per day for 5 days in 4 steps. Between the use of creatine or placebo supplement for 10 days was considered to body clean. The results showed that short-term creatine supplementation have desirable but non-significant effects on cardiovascular and respiratory function.