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What Causes Heart Palpitations?
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What It Feels Like
Your heart pounds,
flutters, or seems to skip beats. You might call these feelings palpitations.
Although they can feel scary, most aren't serious and rarely need
treatment. Knowing what makes your heart race can help you not panic when it
happens and know when to call your doctor.
1/17
Stress and Anxiety
Intense emotions can
trigger the release of hormones that speed up your heartbeat. Your body gets
ready to face a threat, even if you're not in danger. Panic attacks are intense
bouts of fear that can last a few minutes. Symptoms include a racing heart,
sweating, chills, trouble breathing, and chest pain. A panic attack can feel
like a heart attack. If you're not sure which one you're having, get medical
help.
1/17
Exercise
Working out is good for
you. And a brisk run or intense indoor cycling class will naturally make
your heart beat faster. That helps your heart pump more blood to power your
muscles through the workout. If your heart flutters or pounds, it could be because
you haven't worked out in a while and you're out of condition. An irregular
heartbeat, or arrhythmia, can also cause palpitations when you exercise.
1/17
Caffeine
Does your heart beat
faster after your morning latte? Caffeine is a stimulant that raises your heart
rate, whehther you get it from coffee, soda, an energy drink, tea,
chocolate, or another source. One study found that caffeine from coffee, tea,
and chocolate isn’t likely to cause palpitations in people with healthy hearts.
But experts don't know whether it might trigger them in people with heart
rhythm problems.
1/17
Nicotine
The addictive chemical
in cigarettes and other tobacco products, nicotine raises your blood
pressure and speeds up your heart rate. Quitting smoking is one of the best
things you can do for your heart, though it might not slow your heartbeat right
away. Patches and other nicotine replacement products can make your heart race.
Palpitations can also be a symptom of nicotine withdrawal, but they should stop
within 3 to 4 weeks after you quit.
1/17
Hormone Changes
Women might notice that
their heartbeat speeds up when they have their period, they're pregnant,
they’re close to menopause, or they're in menopause. The reason: hormone
levels. The boost in heart rate is usually temporary and no reason for worry.
If you're pregnant, palpitations can also happen if you're anemic, which
means you don’t have enough red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout your
body.
1/17
Fever
When you have a fever
during an illness, your body uses energy at a faster pace than usual. This can
set off palpitations. Usually your temperature needs to be above 100.4 F to
affect your heart rate.
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Medicines
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Some
prescription and over-the-counter medicines cause palpitations as a side
effect, including:
·
Antibiotics
·
Antifungal medicines
·
Antipsychotic drugs
·
Asthma inhalers
·
Cough and cold medicines
·
Diet pills
·
High blood pressure medicines
·
Thyroid pills
If
you take one or more of these types of meds, ask your doctor if it could
affect your heartbeat. Don't skip any doses before you check with your
doctor.
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1/17
Low Blood Sugar
Have you ever noticed
that you feel shaky, cranky, and weak when you've skipped a meal? It can also
lead to palpitations. When your blood sugar level drops, your body releases
stress hormones like adrenaline to prepare for an emergency food shortage. Adrenaline
speeds up your heart rate.
1/17
Overactive Thyroid Gland
Your thyroid is
a butterfly-shaped gland in your neck. It makes hormones that help
manage your metabolism and other things. An overactive thyroid (called hyperthyroidism)
can make too much thyroid hormone. That can speed up your heart so much
that you feel it beating in your chest. Taking too much thyroid hormone to
treat an underactive thyroid gland (called hypothyroidism) can also rev up your
heartbeat.
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Heart Rhythm Problems
Sometimes an irregular
heart rhythm, called an arrhythmia, causes palpitations.
·
Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, happens when the heart's upper chambers,
called the atria, flutter instead of beating normally.
·
Supraventricular
tachycardia is an abnormally fast heartbeat that
starts in the heart's upper chambers.
·
Ventricular tachycardia is a fast heart rate due to faulty signals in
the heart's lower pumping chambers, called the ventricles.
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Alcohol
If you drink a lot, or
just have more than usual, you might feel your heart beating faster or
fluttering. It often happens on holidays or weekends, when people drink more,
earning it the nickname of "holiday heart syndrome.” But for some people,
it can happen even when they only drink a little bit.
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Premature Ventricular Contractions
Premature ventricular
contractions (PVCs) are extra heartbeats. They happen when your heart's
ventricles squeeze too soon. The extra beat throws off your heart's normal
rhythm and makes it flutter, pound, or jump in your chest. If your heart is
healthy, occasional PVCs are nothing to worry about. But you might need
treatment if you have heart disease and you get these extra beats often.
1/17
Cocaine and Other Street Drugs
Illegal drugs
like amphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy are dangerous to the heart.
Cocaine boosts blood pressure, raises heart rate, and damages the heart muscle.
Amphetamines stimulate the nervous system, which ramps up your heartbeat.
Ecstasy triggers the release of a chemical called norepinephrine,
which makes the heart beat faster.
1/17
When to See a Doctor
If you're healthy, you
probably don't need to worry about palpitations that happen once in a while and
last only a few seconds. But make a doctor's appointment if they come more
often or you also have symptoms like these:
·
Chest pain or pressure
·
Shortness of breath
·
Dizziness
·
Fainting
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Finding the Cause
These tests can help
your doctor figrue out what's going on:
·
Electrocardiogram
(ECG). This test looks for problems with the
electrical signals that control your heart rhythm.
·
Holter
monitor. You wear this portable ECG for 24 to 72
hours at a time. It can find heart rhythm problems and any patterns that might
need more tests.
·
Event
Monitor. You wear this device for several
weeks. It records your heart rhythm when you press a button while having
symptoms.
·
Echocardiogram. This test uses sound waves to make pictures of your
heart. It can find problems with your heart's structure. Sources | Reviewed
by Laura
J. Martin, MD on September 22, 2017
This tool does not provide medical advice
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