Does fish oil cause irregular heartbeats?

Rarely and only at high doses, fish oil's actual place on the list, and the top of a lifter's palpitations differential

Does fish oil cause irregular heartbeats is answered rarely and only at high doses, and the more useful answer is a differential, because a lifter who notices a skipped, thumping or racing beat and has recently started fish oil has a list of likelier causes to work through before the softgel. Fish oil's actual place on the list: the cardiovascular outcome trials find a dose-related rise in atrial fibrillation, the irregular rhythm, in people given omega-3, most evident at four grams a day, present at around two, and small or absent below a gram, a relative rise of a quarter to a half against a small absolute risk in older adults with cardiovascular risk, the heart problems page's two numbers, so a standard softgel at 300mg of EPA and DHA is not a cause of an irregular heartbeat, a habit of several grams a day is a possible one, and a reader on a concentrate at two grams or more who develops a persistently irregular pulse has a reason to mention the dose to a GP. The top of the differential, where most lifters' palpitations live: the pre-workout's caffeine, at 200 to 400mg a scoop, and its other stimulants, which raise heart rate and trigger the extra beats most people feel as a skip or a thump; alcohol, especially the evening after, a well-known trigger of ectopic beats and, in quantity, of atrial fibrillation itself; dehydration and the sodium and potassium a sweaty session loses, which change the heart's electrical environment; stress and anxiety, which raise adrenaline and make a normal heartbeat feel abnormal; and short sleep, which lowers the threshold for all of the above. Those produce benign ectopic beats, single early beats followed by a pause and a thump, harmless in a healthy heart and common in everyone, the palpitations literature's finding that most palpitations in primary care are exactly this.

The middle of the differential and the rhythm disorder at the bottom, what a GP does, and the question filed

The middle of the differential holds causes a blood test finds: an overactive thyroid, which races the heart and is common in young adults; anaemia, which makes the heart work harder and is the likelier shortfall in a woman who trains; some medicines, decongestants, asthma inhalers and antidepressants among them; and, for the supplement shelf, the fat burners and stimulant blends that a lifter may be taking alongside the fish oil and forgetting to count. The bottom of the differential is the rhythm disorder, atrial fibrillation, the irregularly irregular pulse that is the signal the fish oil trials found and that has many commoner causes than fish oil, age, blood pressure, alcohol, thyroid disease and heart disease among them, so a lifter whose pulse feels chaotic rather than merely interrupted, whose palpitations last minutes to hours rather than a beat, or who feels faint, breathless or has chest pain with them, sees a GP promptly and, for a collapse or chest pain, calls an ambulance. What a GP does is simple and worth knowing: a history that asks about caffeine, alcohol, stress, sleep, medicines and supplements, a pulse felt for a minute, an ECG and often a blood test for thyroid and blood count, which between them sort benign ectopic beats from a rhythm that needs treatment, with the fish oil mentioned, left alone at a standard dose and paused on advice at a high one. The honest closing note is that a healthy adult on one standard softgel who develops palpitations has, in almost every case, met the pre-workout, the pint, the dehydration or the week and not the fish oil, and that the fix is the caffeine curfew, the water and salt, the sleep and the deload before it is the tub. The question filed: fish oil causes irregular heartbeats rarely and only at gram-and-above doses, a lifter's palpitations differential running caffeine and stimulants, alcohol, dehydration, stress and short sleep at the top, thyroid and anaemia in the middle and atrial fibrillation at the bottom, a GP sorting them with a pulse and an ECG, with the worked example being a standard softgel below the signal, one at 17p, £14.99 for 90.

The verdict, a signal at high doses, a long list of likelier causes, and a GP with an ECG

Does fish oil cause irregular heartbeats: rarely and only at high doses, the outcome trials finding a dose-related rise in atrial fibrillation most evident at four grams a day and small or absent below a gram, so that a standard softgel is not a cause and a several-gram habit is a possible one, while a lifter's palpitations have a differential with likelier causes at the top, the pre-workout's caffeine and stimulants, alcohol, dehydration, stress and short sleep producing the benign ectopic beats most people mean, thyroid disease and anaemia in the middle, and atrial fibrillation at the bottom as the rhythm disorder a GP excludes with a pulse and an ECG, the fish oil mentioned and paused on advice at the high rungs. A standard softgel below the signal: Futuro Labs Omega 3 Fish Oil, one softgel with food, 180mg EPA and 120mg DHA, 90 for £14.99 at 17p a day.

What to check on the label

Questions people also ask

Can omega-3 cause palpitations?

At high doses, a signal: the outcome trials find a dose-related rise in atrial fibrillation most evident at four grams a day and small or absent below a gram, so a standard softgel is not a cause of palpitations and a several-gram habit is a possible one worth mentioning to a GP.

What causes skipped heartbeats in people who train?

Most often benign ectopic beats triggered by the pre-workout's caffeine and stimulants, alcohol the evening after, dehydration and the sodium and potassium a sweaty session loses, stress and short sleep, single early beats followed by a pause and a thump that are harmless in a healthy heart.

When should palpitations be seen by a doctor?

Promptly when the pulse feels irregularly irregular rather than merely interrupted, when palpitations last minutes to hours, or when they come with faintness, breathlessness or chest pain, and as an ambulance call for collapse or chest pain, since atrial fibrillation and other rhythm disorders are found with a pulse and an ECG.

Should I stop fish oil if I get an irregular heartbeat?

Mention it to a GP and follow their advice: a standard softgel sits below the dose at which the atrial fibrillation signal was found and is usually left alone, while a high-dose habit of two grams or more is paused on advice, and the caffeine, alcohol, dehydration and sleep are addressed whatever the tub.

Does fish oil protect against irregular heartbeats?

No: the register's claim is the maintenance of normal heart function at 250mg, not rhythm protection, and the outcome trials found no prevention at a gram and a dose-related atrial fibrillation rise at higher doses, so fish oil neither prevents nor, at a standard dose, causes an irregular heartbeat.

Sources

1. The palpitations literature: an awareness of a fast, pounding or irregular heartbeat is most often benign ectopic beats triggered by caffeine, stimulants, alcohol, stress, dehydration and poor sleep, with thyroid disease, anaemia and rhythm disorders such as atrial fibrillation among the causes a GP excludes with a history, a pulse and an ECG. PubMed record
2. Meta-analyses of cardiovascular outcome trials of marine omega-3: a dose-related increase in the risk of atrial fibrillation, most evident at doses of four grams a day and small or absent below one gram, a finding that sets the honest ceiling of high-dose omega-3 for a healthy adult. PubMed record
3. The large cardiovascular outcome trials of omega-3: around a gram a day of EPA and DHA in primary-prevention populations produced no meaningful reduction in major cardiovascular events, while four grams of purified EPA in people with raised triglycerides on statins reduced events in one large trial, so the supplement-dose story is maintenance and the treatment-dose story is a prescription. PubMed record
4. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products. Scientific opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to EPA and DHA and normal function of the heart (250mg daily condition of use). EFSA Journal 2010;8(10):1796. https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1796

Related answers

• Does fish oil cause heart problems?
• What does fish oil cost per day in the UK?
• What are the best fish oil supplements that don't cause burps?
• Does fish oil go bad if not refrigerated?
• Does fish oil interact with pre-workout or caffeine?
• Ethyl ester vs triglyceride fish oil: does it matter?