Does collagen help with heart palpitations during perimenopause?

Collagen does not have a meaningful connection to heart palpitations, and there is no evidence that taking collagen supplements reduces the palpitations that many women experience during perimenopause. More importantly: heart palpitations are a symptom that always deserves proper medical evaluation. While they are often benign and hormone-related during perimenopause, they can sometimes signal underlying cardiac conditions that need to be diagnosed and treated. Please do not substitute supplements for medical assessment of this symptom.

The research on collagen and palpitations is essentially non-existent because there is no plausible direct mechanism. Collagen is a structural protein found in connective tissue, skin, cartilage, and bones. It is true that collagen forms part of the extracellular matrix of the heart muscle (the myocardium) and heart valves, cardiac fibrosis, a harmful hardening of heart tissue, involves abnormal collagen deposition. But this is a pathological process studied in cardiovascular disease research, and it has no meaningful translation to the question of whether taking collagen peptides would affect palpitations. The heart's electrical system, which is what drives palpitations, is not influenced by collagen supplementation in any way that research has shown.

Perimenopausal heart palpitations are quite common and are real. Up to 54% of perimenopausal women report palpitations, often described as a fluttering, racing, or skipped-beat sensation in the chest. The primary mechanism is estrogen's role in regulating the autonomic nervous system. Estrogen influences heart rate variability, and as estrogen fluctuates, particularly during the luteal phase or times of significant hormonal shift, the heart's electrical activity can become more reactive. Hot flashes often accompany palpitations because the same vasomotor event that produces flushing also changes heart rate. Caffeine, alcohol, stress, and poor sleep amplify this reactivity. None of this involves collagen.

Because collagen is not relevant to this symptom, dosing guidance for palpitations does not apply. If you are already taking collagen for skin, joint, or hair reasons and want to know whether it is safe to continue, the answer is generally yes, collagen is well tolerated and is not known to worsen palpitations or interact with cardiac medications at standard doses. However, discuss any supplement use with your healthcare provider if you are being evaluated for a heart condition or are on cardiac medications. Some high-protein supplements can theoretically affect certain medications if taken simultaneously.

For perimenopausal palpitations, the most useful lifestyle strategies involve reducing autonomic triggers. Limiting caffeine and alcohol, particularly in the week before your period, can make a noticeable difference. Staying well hydrated matters because dehydration concentrates electrolytes and can worsen irregular heartbeat sensations. Magnesium plays a role in cardiac muscle function, and low magnesium is associated with increased palpitations, this is worth discussing with your doctor, particularly if you have heavy periods that could deplete magnesium. Stress management and sleep improvement also reduce palpitation frequency for many women.

Timeline expectations are not really applicable here because you should not be waiting and watching with this symptom. If you are having palpitations, the appropriate first step is to have them evaluated medically so you know what you are dealing with, and then, if they are confirmed to be benign hormone-related palpitations, you can work with your provider on management strategies.

Palpitations that need immediate medical attention include those accompanied by chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, or pain radiating to the arm or jaw. Even without these accompanying symptoms, palpitations that are frequent, prolonged (lasting more than a few seconds at a time), or that began suddenly should be evaluated with at minimum an ECG and a conversation with your doctor. Your provider may want to rule out arrhythmias, thyroid disease (hyperthyroidism commonly causes palpitations), anemia, or other cardiovascular issues. Do not delay this evaluation because you are assuming perimenopause is the cause.

Tracking when your palpitations occur, the time of day, where you are in your cycle, what you ate or drank, and your stress and sleep levels that day, gives your doctor far more to work with than a general description. The PeriPlan app lets you log symptoms daily so you can build a pattern over weeks and bring that record to your appointments.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about your specific situation.