When Should I Worry About Heart Palpitations
Heart palpitations are usually not dangerous. They may be a sign of a more serious health problem if you also:
- Feel dizzy, confused or lightheaded.
- Have chest pain or pressure.
- Have trouble breathing.
- Pass out when you have palpitations.
- Pain, pressure or tightness in your chest, neck, jaw, arm or upper back.
- Shortness of breath.
- Symptoms that are new or get worse.
How To Lower Your Heart Rate From Anxiety Or A Panic Attack
- You can lower your heart rate from anxiety with regular exercise, deep breathing techniques, and mindfulness meditation.
- Anixety can raise your heart rate over time and is associated with a higher risk of heart disease.
- A panic attack often comes with a very high heart rate, and may even feel similar to a heart attack, so youll want to take these steps to lower your heart rate.
- This article was medically reviewed by John Osborne, MD, PhD, and the Director of Cardiology for Dallas-based State of the Heart Cardiology.
- This story is part of Insiders guide on Anxiety.
We all experience some level of anxiety and stress, but anxiety disorders are so overwhelming that it may affect daily life. An estimated 40 million US adults, or 19.1% of the population deal with a type of anxiety disorder.
From excessive fear and worry to a racing heart, pounding chest, and shortness of breath, the symptoms of anxiety can take a toll on your body especially your heart. With proper interventions, you can learn to regulate your heart rate and reduce the impact that anxiety has on your heart health. Heres how.
How To Manage Anxiety
When you feel anxious, the body responds with physical symptoms, such as shaking, sweaty palms, or an upset stomach. Sometimes, it may even feel like your heart is fluttering, pounding, racing, or skipping a beat a condition known as heart palpitations.
It is normal to experience heart palpitations after engaging in rigorous activities that get your heart rate up, such as exercising. However, palpitations sometimes hit without warning. You may begin to feel as if your heart is beating forcefully or skipping beats out of rhythm. Some people say they feel their heart beating in their ears. To determine whether your heart palpitations¹ are caused by anxiety or a more serious condition, it can be helpful to understand the link between anxiety and heart palpitations.
Have you considered clinical trials for Anxiety?
We make it easy for you to participate in a clinical trial for Anxiety, and get access to the latest treatments not yet widely available – and be a part of finding a cure.
Recommended Reading: How To Break The Cycle Of Health Anxiety
Get Up And Get Moving
Physical activity and exercise can help you manage anxiety and stress. A 2019 meta-analysis in the journal Depression and Anxiety found that compared to people with anxiety disorders who reported low physical activity, people that self-reported a high level of physical activity were more protected from developing anxiety symptoms.
Isaacson points out that while exercise can help with anxiety, it is also known to lower your resting heart rate, which makes it one of the most important factors for heart health. Exercise is an important method for managing anxiety, especially if you have cardiac disease, since it provides direct benefit to the cardiovascular system, he says.
Dont Miss: How Long Does An Ekg Stress Test Take
Can A Panic Attack Feel Like A Heart Attack
A panic attack often comes with a very high heart rate, and may even feel similar to a heart attack, so youll want to take these steps to lower your heart rate. This article was medically reviewed by John Osborne, MD, PhD, and the Director of Cardiology for Dallas-based State of the Heart Cardiology.
Dont Miss: What Are The Signs Of A Heart Attack For Women
Read Also: How Much Magnesium Glycinate For Anxiety
Medical History Provides Clues
Your medical history may offer hints as to whether youre experiencing a panic attack or afib. Often panic attacks are precipitated by some anxiety or depression or another psychiatric difficulty. Also, whether youve had a panic attack in the past could be a clue. Dr. Sobel said the presence of one panic attack increases the likelihood of another. Likewise, he said, a family history of cardiac disease and arrhythmias may point in a different direction.
Women may have atypical symptoms of a heart attack or other heart condition, such as a burning sensation in the upper abdomen, an upset stomach, or sweating. Doctors dont always consider a heart attack or heart arrhythmia when women come to the ER with those symptoms, said Michelle B. Riba, MD, a professor and associate chair for integrated medical and psychiatric services at the University of Michigan.
- Give you a physical exam
- Take down your medical history
- Want to know about your current medications, diet, and lifestyle
- Ask for specifics about when, how often, and under what circumstances your palpitations occur
Sometimes, a blood test can help your doctor find the cause of your palpitations. Other useful tests include:
Electrocardiogram: This can be done while youâre at rest or exercising. The latter is called a stress EKG. In both cases, the test records your hearts electrical signals and can find unusual heart rhythms.
If necessary, your doctor may refer you to a cardiologist for more tests or treatment.
Schedule For Anxiety Treatment
Studies show that psychiatric issues are becoming more common among patients experiencing palpitations. Their emotions make them feel like theyre sick when theyre actually not.Schedule an appointment with a mental health specialist if youre feeling symptoms of anxiety, such as restlessness, nervousness, confusion, and palpitations. He/She can accurately diagnose the condition you have.Dont be afraid or embarrassed to visit one. Remember, these experts are here to help you, and they have nothing but your best interest in mind.
Read Also: What Are The Symptoms Of Anxiety Disorder
You May Like: What Are Some Causes Of Anxiety
How Can You Know If Your Heart Is Racing Because Of Anxiety
More often than not, when heart palpitations or a racing heart are caused by stress or anxiety, they are harmless. So, should you be concerned if your heart is racing?
- At least one study has shown that less than half of those with heart palpitations had heart disease.
- One-third of the remaining cases were due to psychological causes, such as anxiety.
- No cause was found in 16 percent.
- The rest of the cases were triggered by thyroid overactivity, anemia, and drug ingestion, including caffeine.
If you are concerned about heart palpitations, its important to consider the setting. Have you been under stress lately? Are you worried about something? When you feel stressed and have a racing heart, it is best to try stress-reducing activities to help communicate to your body that its time to calm down. Meditating, walking, exercising, knitting and other hobbies are all great options. Try anything that exerts some type of energy to use up the stress hormones, while also relaxing the mind. However, if you are concerned about ongoing heart issues, please call your doctor. And, make sure that you are taking care of yourself and reducing stress. Lara Schuster Effland is Regional Managing Director of Clinical Operations for ERC, Washington and Senior Clinical Director of ERC Insights Mood, Anxiety, and Trauma Related Disorders Program.
Why Does My Heart Skip A Beat
There are several possible causes of heart palpitations.
Trouble from above. Some palpitations stem from premature contractions of the hearts upper chambers . When the atria contract a fraction of a second earlier than they should, they rest an instant longer afterward to get back to their usual rhythm. This feels like a skipped beat and is often followed by a noticeably forceful contraction as the lower chambers clear out the extra blood they accumulated during the pause. These premature beats are almost always benign, meaning they arent life-threatening or the sign of a heart attack in the making.
Two other heart rhythm disturbances that can cause palpitations from above are atrial fibrillation and supraventricular tachycardia. Atrial fibrillation is an irregular and often rapid heartbeat caused by chaotic electrical activity in the hearts upper chambers. Supraventricular tachycardia is a faster-than-normal heart rate that begins above the hearts lower chambers. Both of these may cause palpitations that may be brief or prolonged. Both should be evaluated by your physician.
Other sources. Problems with the hearts timekeeper, called the pacemaker or sinus node, can cause palpitations. So can a breakdown in the coordination between the upper and lower chambers. Scar tissue in the heart from a heart attack or other injury and valve problems such as mitral valve prolapse can also lead to palpitations.
Read Also: How I Overcame Social Anxiety
Looking Out For The Telltale Signs
AFib is notoriously tricky to diagnose on your own, but there are some signs that can help you tell panic attacks and AFib episodes apart. Its important to keep in mind that the two syndromes stem from different sources: AFib is an electrical disorder that sends a mess of signals through the chambers of the heart, but a panic attack typically wont have a physical cause. Rather, its triggered by events in your environment, stressful situations, or sometimes happens for no apparent reason at all.Here are a few markers that can help you tell the conditions apart:Rate of decline. Pay attention to the rate of building and declining symptoms. Since AFib is triggered by a sudden physical event , AFib episodes typically hit suddenly. When the episode subsides, so will the symptoms, but the cycle tends to repeat until treatment is administered. With a panic attack, heart rate can start to creep up as other discomforts manifest, and after the attack hits a peak, heart rate will gradually return to normal as the other symptoms dissipate.Nature of the heartbeat. The pattern or rhythm of a heart beat can also tell you whats going on: a panic attack typically brings a constant rapid heart rate, while AFib causes an erratic heart rate. If your heart seems to be skipping beats, or speeding up then slowing down and speeding up again, its more likely that AFib is to blame.
When To Seek Medical Attention
Though palpitations are extremely common and in most cases not serious, its probably still a good idea to get them checked out by a doctor, even if only for peace of mind. If your heart palpitations are new and increasing in frequency, its probably best to be evaluated by a physician, just to determine the cause and whether you need treatment.
You May Like: How Can You Cure Anxiety Without Medication
Could Heart Palpitations Accompanied By Shortness Of Breath Be Serious
Heart palpitations can certainly be associated with shortness of breath, that is, the two symptoms together without a serious condition being present. That usually indicates that the irregularity of the heart rhythm is significant and may signal the need for a more comprehensive evaluation.
In general, the more serious the symptoms, such as lightheadedness, loss of consciousness, chest pain, shortness of breath, the more seriously one needs to take the problem.
If a patient has known heart disease such as a previous myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure , hypertrophic cardiomyopathy , and others, the symptoms of palpitations will require a thorough evaluation.
What Causes Heart Palpitations
Many things can cause palpitations. Some causes of heart palpitations include:
- Heart-related causes. People who have an irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia may have palpitations. Most of the time, palpitations and irregular heartbeats are harmless. However, sometimes the break in your hearts normal rhythm can be a serious problem. You also may have palpitations if you have problems with the valves in your heart. Valves help move blood through the heart.
- Non-heart-related causes. Certain medicines, herbal supplements, and illegal street drugs can make your heart beat faster. Medicines that can cause palpitations include asthma inhalers and decongestants. Caffeine , alcohol, and tobacco can also cause palpitations. People who have panic disorder feel their heart pounding when they are fearful of something. They also feel it when they are having a panic attack. Some medical conditions, such as thyroid disease and anemia, also can cause palpitations.
Sometimes the cause of palpitations cannot be found. This happens in about 1 of every 7 people who have palpitations. Palpitations in these people usually are not harmful.
Also Check: How To Control Social Anxiety
Read Also: How To Help Someone With Anxiety
Heart Palpitations Anxiety Symptoms Description:
- Your heart feels and/or sounds as though it is beating unusually hard or pounding in your chest and/or throat.
- Your heart feels like it is racing or beating fast.
- It feels like your heart is skipping beats, or has flutters, or feels like it stops, flops, or thumps in your chest. When it feels like your heart skips a beat, stops, flops, or thumps, it also can produce a tickle-like feeling in your chest or throat that makes you cough.
- It feels like your heart beats are irregular or unevenly spaced.
- It feels like your heart is fluttering instead of beating evenly and normally.
- It feels like your heart is throbbing or pounding hard in your chest.
If you take your pulse, you may notice that your heartbeats are normal, faster than normal, or unevenly spaced.
When these hearth palpitation symptoms occur, many fear there may be a problem with the heart. Many also fear that they might be on the verge of a heart attack or that their heart could burst or suddenly stop beating.
Heart palpitations anxiety symptoms can occur whether the heart’s rhythm is normal or abnormal.
Heart palpitations anxiety symptoms can be felt in your chest, throat, head, ears, or neck, and can be experienced as, or in association with, pulsing, throbbing, or thumping sensations anywhere in the body, internally and/or externally.
You also may become abnormally aware of your hearts beating and action.
Heart palpitations anxiety symptoms may occur when physically active or when resting.
What Heart Palpitations Feel Like
When you have heart palpitations, your heartbeat feels uncomfortable or unusual. You may feel it in your chest, neck or throat.
Your heartbeat may feel like it is:
- racing or beating very fast
- irregular, with skipped or extra beats
- pounding or thumping
Heart palpitations can last seconds, minutes or longer.
Also Check: How To Reduce Cortisol Anxiety
What Should I Do If My 9
The same types of recommendations apply to children and in the vast majority of children, the causes of skipped beats are usually benign and do not require treatment. They should not be ignored, however, as electrical or structural abnormalities of the heart need to be ruled out.
If a child simply notices an occasional “skipped beat” and is otherwise healthy and keeps up with their friends on the playground, it’s unlikely that anything serious is going on.
What Do People Mean By Sudden Death
Sudden death is used to describe a situation in which a patient loses cardiac function and essentially will die within minutes if assistance is not provided. By assistance, I mean cardiopulmonary resuscitation and frequently, electrical cardioversion to restore the heart rhythm to normal. Obviously, patients where these efforts are successful will require extensive evaluation to determine the cause of cardiac arrest and to prevent it from occurring in the future.
The internal defibrillator devices that have become commonplace in the care of these types of patients have proven to be very effective in preventing death from heart arrhythmias in patients who have already had one or more episode of attempted sudden death.
Got a Minute?
Recommended Reading: Can Anxiety Go Away On Its Own
Evaluating Your Heart Palpitations
If you suspect youre suffering from anxiety, the good news is that the accompanying heart palpitations may feel awful, but they arent usually medically serious. In most cases, the heart palpitations subside as you de-stress and your body and mind relax.
If this doesnt occur and youre unsure whether your heart palpitations are related to anxiety or a more serious issue with your hearts rhythm, we urge you to come see us. Well get to the bottom of the issue.
To determine whether theres a functional problem with your heart, we perform certain diagnostic tests at our office, including:
- An electrocardiogram to evaluate electrical function
- An echocardiogram to check the structures of your heart
We can also outfit you with a portable monitor to measure your hearts function throughout the day as you engage in normal activities.
If we find that your heart function is normal, anxiety is the likely culprit behind your heart palpitations. But theres good news: If we detect a problem, were able to act quickly to resolve it.
Again, if youre having trouble with persistent heart palpitations, we urge you to err on the side of caution and come see us. To get started, contact our office in Little Rock, Arkansas, to set up an appointment.
You Might Also Enjoy
Are Heart Palpitations From Anxiety Dangerous
Although heart palpitations can be alarming, most arent dangerous. They usually go away after the anxiety-causing situation passes.
Less commonly, heart palpitations can be a sign of a serious health problem, such as arrhythmia . These heart palpitations may feel like they cause anxiety rather than follow it. If you have palpitations along with chest pain, trouble breathing, dizziness or confusion, seek medical help right away.
Also Check: How Do I Know If It’s Anxiety Or Something Serious
How To Treat Heart Palpitations
You are sitting and suddenly get heart palpitations. How do you stop them?
- Relaxation techniques
Sit cross-legged. Take in slow and deep breaths through your nose and breathe out slowly from the mouth. Continue until you feel calm. You can use other techniques such as meditation, Tai Chi and aromatherapy to calm down.
- Vagal manoeuvres
Vagus nerves connects the heart with the brain. Certain manoeuvres can stimulate the vagus nerve. Please get your doctors approval and suggestions before trying such manoeuvres at home.
- Electrolyte balance
Electrical signals travel throughout our bodies with the help of electrolytes. Natural foodstuffs like avocado, bananas, sweet potatoes and spinach are sources for potassium. Dark leafy green vegetables are good source of calcium and magnesium. Consult a doctor before taking any sort of supplements to increase potassium, magnesium and calcium in your body.