How To Stop Heart Palpitations
Heart palpitations. Dont these two words make you shudder with anxiety?
Well, maybe the words dont, but the sensations caused by heart palpitations certainly do scare people.
In fact, its the main topic of emails that I get from people who contact me with questions.
And given that this anxiety symptom is so common among anxiety sufferers, I thought it would be helpful to do a how to article on palpitations.
First, a few basics. A heart palpitation is an abnormal beating of the heart AND your heightened awareness of your heart beat. Palpitations can cause your heart to beat fast , slow , flutter, or to even have skipped heart beats .
Heart palpitations can be caused by electrolyte imbalances, adrenaline, anemia, heart disease, arrhythmias, hypoglycemia , and of course, anxiety disorders. There are more causes, but the ones listed are common.
Now, because heart disease could be involved, its always a good idea to see your doctor if youre experiencing new or ongoing heart palpitations.
No need for fear, this is mainly a precaution to safeguard your health and your sanity. When you go to your doctor he/she will run an ECG and take some blood. If the results come back negative, then you can start your efforts to stop your heart palpitations without having to worry about having a heart attack.
How Palpitations Work
Its also important to point out that palpitations are almost always accompanied by anxiety and panic.
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Try 6 Meditations To Help Reduce Anxiety
Looking for more meditations to help you feel calm? The Headspace app offers subscribers several courses and single meditations on topics related to anxiety, including:
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Managing Anxiety 10-day course. Cultivate a new perspective on fear and anxiety.
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Unemployment Anxiety single meditation. Recognize and release stress about job loss and the future.
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Letting Go of Stress 10-day course. Enjoy a healthier mind by developing your awareness of stress and learning how to reframe negative emotions.
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Stressed single meditation. Notice what youre holding onto and how to drop the preoccupying storyline.
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Why cant I sleep? single meditation. This exercise will help you practice calming the mind and body during the day, so you feel more ready for sleep when bedtime comes.
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Difficult Conversations single meditation. The prospect of a difficult conversation can drive feelings of anxiety and fear, but by lesseing habits of reactivity and developing a calmer, more patient mindset, you can both listen and express yourself more clearly.
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Controlling Rapid Heartbeat From Anxiety
Because rapid heartbeat is linked to anxiety, the best way to control it is to reduce your anxiety. But for those looking for specific tips to address this one symptom, there are different strategies and techniques you can try:
A rapid heartbeat is, unfortunately, one of those symptoms of anxiety that is not easily stopped. Anxiety is the fight or flight system, and the fight or flight system releases adrenaline which races your heart.
Instead, what you should try to do is focus on preventing rapid heartbeat from creating more anxiety for you. You can do this by learning to breathe during times of anxiousness, waiting out the rapid heartbeat in a comfortable place, and gaining a greater level of understanding about how it occurred.
It may not stop the way your heart beats, but it will give you a chance to prevent rapid heartbeat and other anxiety symptoms from feeding on themselves and causing more anxiety to occur.
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Splash Your Face With Cold Water
Take ice water and pour it on your face or alternatively, deep your face in ice water. This stimulates the vagus nerve to slow down the heart rate by causing a dive reflex. The dive reflex is what slows down your metabolism and is what makes it possible for some people to survive underwater for a long time. Keep your face in the ice water until you notice a drop in your heart rate.
Similarities Differences And Links Between Afib And Anxiety Attacks
So many common symptoms of atrial fibrillation resemble classic anxiety symptoms that characterize panic attacks: heart palpitations, chest pain, muscle tension, and sweaty palms that come with an adrenaline rush are good examples.
Luckily, these symptoms are generally short-lived, whether its an AFib episode or a panic attack. However, in order to treat your body properly and sidestep potential complications down the road, its important to distinguish the two conditions.
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Why Does Your Heart Race From Anxiety
Anxiety can impact your bodys stress response. Translation: your body may react like its under a real threat, even though its not. Thats because anxiety triggers your fight or flight response.
In turn, this triggers a release of certain hormones in your body and increased blood flow may occur this can speed up your heart rate and increase your blood pressure.
Back in caveman days, this burst of energy and rise in blood pressure could help people thwart a predator.
But today, we dont often need this response especially if its not brought on by a real bodily threat.
Many times, all its really good for is making us feel like were having a heart attack.
Why Does My Heart Keep Beating So Fast
According to the Harvard Medical School, rapid heartbeat can be caused by stress, anxiety, dehydration, low potassium, low blood sugar, too much caffeine, hormonal changes and certain prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs. Other conditions that may cause heart flutters may include anemia or hyperthyroidism.
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When Your Heart Rate Slows
Sometimes our hearts beat slower than 60 beats per minute. This is called bradycardia. For some people, like athletes and healthy, young adults, this heart rate could be normal. But for others, it could be caused by your brain and other organs not getting enough oxygen to function like they should.
If thatâs the case, you may feel faint, dizzy, weak, or short of breath. You might also have chest pains, memory problems, or tire easily.
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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.
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Can You Mistake Other Types Of Heart Palpitations For Anxiety Heart Palpitations
If heart palpitations dont go away within a few minutes or happen frequently, they may not be related to anxiety. Less commonly, heart palpitations result from a health condition or disorder, including:
- Lifestyle, including your alcohol and caffeine intake, as both can cause palpitations.
- Medical history.
Your provider may suggest a blood test to check for anemia or low potassium. Theyll also look for a thyroid problem or other health issues that could cause heart palpitations.
Getting A Clear Picture Of Heart Rhythm And Rate
Cardiac health and anxiety are interrelated. Each can affect the other. The best way to get a clear picture of heart rhythm and rate is to monitor the heart for a period of time. This can be done with a heart monitor. A heart monitor is a small device that records heart rhythm day and night or during active symptoms. Capturing heart rhythm over several days or weeks, a doctor can accurately determine which comes first, anxiety or abnormal beats.
Do you have questions about cardiac symptoms? Contact Premier Cardiology Consultants at 516-437-5600 for assistance.
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Q: Are There Different Types Of Anxiety Disorders
A: Yes, there are many different anxiety disorders.
- Generalized anxiety is probably the most common. People with generalized anxiety get overly anxious about a wide variety of everyday things.
- There is also social anxiety, which is more of a performance-based anxiety. I see social anxiety a lot in high performers, CEOs and other professionals.
- Panic disorders cause people to have panic attacks. Sometimes these intense episodes of fear have certain triggers and sometimes they dont.
- Phobia disorders occur when very specific things cause anxiety, such as a fear of heights or spiders. You can also have anxiety about a medical condition youre facing. For example, if youve had heart attack, your fear of having another heart attack may be so intense that it disrupts your life.
Practicing Mindful Movement Or Breathing
Activities like yoga or tai chi are often considered forms of moving meditation. The focus on deepening breath and connecting mind and body can be useful as people who experience anxiety tend to disconnect from their bodies, Peck says. And that disconnect can make it harder to calm down and regulate your heart rate.
You can achieve similar stress-busting benefits from activities like progressive muscle relaxation, which is the practice of tensing, then relaxing groups of muscles in the body. Its been shown to significantly reduce anxiety levels and improve sleep quality for people with COVID, and its , even when youre lying in bed.
Or simply try taking some deep breaths throughout the day. You can try one of the five techniques spelled out here.
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Normal Pulse When Exercising
Your body needs more oxygen when you exercise. The heart has to pump harder and faster to deliver oxygen throughout the body when you work out, so your heart rate also increases. Your pulse during exercise will vary depending on age, sex, gender, exercise intensity and fitness. During high-intensity workouts, you may want to reduce your heart rate to stay within a target range or keep from stressing your heart, and a few techniques can help.
Cautions With Other Medicines
There are some medicines that may interfere with the way that beta blockers, including beta blocker eyedrops, work.
Tell your doctor if youâre taking:
- other medicines for high blood pressure. The combination with beta blockers can sometimes lower your blood pressure too much. This may make you feel dizzy or faint
- other medicines for an irregular heartbeat such as amiodarone or flecainide
- other medicines that can lower your blood pressure. These include some antidepressants, nitrates , baclofen , medicines for an enlarged prostate gland like tamsulosin, or Parkinsonâs disease medicines such as levodopa
- medicines for asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- medicines for diabetes, particularly insulin beta blockers may make it more difficult to recognise the warning signs of low blood sugar
- medicines to treat nose or sinus congestion, or other cold remedies
- medicines for allergies, such as ephedrine, noradrenaline or adrenaline
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines , such as ibuprofen. These medicines may increase your blood pressure, so itâs best to keep them to a minimum
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Anxiety And Its Impact On Your Heart
People who have generalised anxiety disorder are more likely to suffer from heart attacks and other heart problems. If you already have heart disease, then anxiety symptoms as well increase your risk of a heart attack. Scientists believe there may be several reasons for this. Prolonged anxiety can alter your bodys stress response and cause inflammation in the body, which damages the linings of the artery and can cause a build-up of coronary plaque.
Stress hormones can result in disturbance to your heart rhythm, high blood pressure and a greater risk of a heart attack. Studies show that people with anxiety have low levels of omega-3 fatty acids and this can be linked to a higher risk of heart disease. In addition, the platelets become more viscous when a person has anxiety or depression, making the blood more prone to clotting.
It can become a vicious cycle as a diagnosis of heart problems can lead to increased anxiety which may then exacerbate the risks of further heart problems. People may develop unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as smoking, drinking or eating unhealthy food, which can also damage heart health.
When To Seek Help
Talk with your doctor if you notice your heart rate is faster than normal. Doctors cannot always pinpoint the cause of heart palpitations. They will need to rule out heart rhythm disorders like tachycardia and other medical conditions like hyperthyroidism.
There is typically little risk of complications with heart palpitations unless theyre caused by an underlying heart condition. If theyre caused by a heart condition, you may experience:
- fainting if your heart beats too quickly and causes your blood pressure to drop
- cardiac arrest if your palpitations are caused by arrhythmias and your heart isnt beating efficiently
- stroke if your palpitations are caused by atrial fibrillation
- heart failure if your heart isnt pumping well for a long period of time
Speak with your doctor if you have palpitations with any other symptoms or if you have other concerns about your health.
At your appointment, your doctor will likely:
- ask about your medical history
- ask what symptoms youre experiencing
- ask what medications youre taking
- give you a physical exam
It may be difficult to find the cause of your palpitations. Your doctor may order further tests or refer to you to a cardiologist.
Tests for heart palpitations may include an electrocardiogram , which shows the electrical activity of your heart. You may also have an echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound test that helps your doctor visualize the different parts of your heart.
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What If I Forget To Take It
If you forget to take a dose of your beta blocker, take it as soon as you remember, unless it is nearly time for your next dose. In this case, just leave out the missed dose and take your next dose as normal.
Never take 2 doses at the same time. Never take an extra dose to make up for a forgotten one.
If you often forget doses, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to help you remember to take your medicine.
How To Treat Anxiety
There are many different ways you can help yourself if you suffer from anxiety. GPs run a scheme called Reading Well Books on Prescription which gives you free access to books that might help. Its important to take good care of your physical health and to try and manage your worries. A way to do this might be to dedicate a particular time of the day to focus on what is worrying you or to write your worries in a notebook or on pieces of paper and put them in a jar. That way, they are not going round and round in your head. Simple breathing exercises can help with anxiety as taking slow, deeper breaths can calm the bodys stress response. Mindfulness and meditation can be helpful ways to cope with anxiety.
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How To Lower Your Heart Rate Over Time
In the long term, the best way to lower your heart rate is by following a program that includes exercise, a healthy diet, limited caffeine and alcohol, and good sleep, suggests Johnson. The exercise component can involve either extended low-intensity sessions or interval training that mixes high- and low-effort episodes, she says.
Let Panic Run Its Course
During a panic attack, you may experience feelings of depersonalization and derealization, in which you feel disconnected from yourself and the world around you. You may become fearful that you are going crazy, losing all control, or having a stroke or heart attack.
When youre going through a panic attack, it can be difficult to focus on anything else but your symptoms. You may try to push away your upsetting thoughts and physical sensations, but resisting your panic attacks can actually intensify your anxiety. You may also fear your attacks because you dont understand them.
The next time a panic attack takes hold and those feelings of dread set in, try to surrender to your symptoms and allow the attack to run its course. Remind yourself that your symptoms cannot hurt you and know that it will soon pass.
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