What causes heart palpitations?
Does your heart pounder or flutter or skip beats at times? You may not know, but this is called heart palpitations. Heart palpitation is a distressing condition, but not serious otherwise, and barely they call for treatment. Learning what causes your heart to run down will help to make foreseeable changes in your lifestyle.
The different causes of heart palpitations may be:
Stress
Intense stress or even emotions speed up your heartbeat by releasing hormones. Such hormones prepare the body to face danger, even if you are not in danger otherwise. Panic attacks that last a few minutes also trigger hormones that send signals to your brain. Symptoms might include chills, shortness of breath, chest pain, sweating, racing heart, etc. If you are not sure about a panic attack, get medical help.
Caffeine
Caffeine is also known to have a blood pressure triggering effect. Caffeinated drinks have stimulant that suddenly raises the heart rate. Some of the caffeinated drinks include energy drinks, tea, chocolate, soda, coffee, etc. It was also found in a study that coffee, tea, and chocolate may not trigger heart palpitations when you have a healthy heart, but if you have heart rhythm problems, you may need to seek assistance from a doctor.
Nicotine
The addictive chemical in cigarettes and other tobacco products raises blood pressure swiftly and changes heart rate. To get this done, you may want to quit smoking or skip those habits that may put your heart at the risk. Palpitations may still be experienced during nicotine withdrawal, so wait for 3 to 4 weeks before the symptoms could run down.
Alcohol
If you are binging on alcohol, you might experience changes in your heartbeat and it can be fluttering as well. But for some people, it can happen even with mild alcohol consumption.
Medicines
Consuming over the counter medicines can also trigger palpitations as a consequence. These medications may interfere with your health and cause serious complications.
These medications may include:
• Antibiotics
• Antifungal medicines
• Antipsychotic drugs
• Asthma inhalers
• Cough and cold medicines
• Diet pills
• High blood pressure medicines
• Thyroid pills
If you are taking one or more of these types of medicines, always ask your doctor about any changes you experience in your body. Do not skip any doses before you reach out to your doctor for help.
Hormone changes
Women might have an increased heart rate when they have periods or when being pregnant, or when they are in or close to menopause. This increase in heart rate is due to the hormones the body produces at this time. Anemia in pregnancy is another reason why you may feel your heart pumping the blood at a faster rate, and heart palpitation is common.
Low Blood Sugar
If you are a diabetic patient, you might have noticed weakness when you’ve skipped a meal. This is also a sign of heart palpitations. In the event of uncontrolled diabetes, the body releases stress hormones like adrenaline to prepare for an emergency food shortage.
Overactive thyroid gland
The thyroid gland presented in your neck makes hormones to manage your metabolism rate. An overactive thyroid may result in too much thyroid hormone within the body. The presence of too much thyroid hormone also results in changes in the heart rate to make you feel better in the chest.
Heart Rhythm Problems
Irregular heart rhythms also cause palpitations.
• Atrial fibrillation happens when atria, the heart's upper chambers, 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 caused due to faulty signals in the ventricles.
Premature ventricular contractions
Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are extra heartbeats. The condition happens when your heart's ventricles compress. The extra heartbeat overpowers your heart's normal rhythm and makes it jump in your chest. Occasional instances of PVCs do not pose any threat to the health, but if they remain regular, you may need to consult a doctor.
Kidney failure
When your kidney function is not accurate, electrolyte buildup may result in an increased risk of heart stroke and heart disease. These make them vulnerable to problems like blood circulation and Atrial Fibrillation. Often one needs to consult the best ayurvedic hospital for kidney treatment in India to get the treatment. With the treatment of your kidney disease, signs like heart palpitations may sign off automatically. You can consult Karma Ayurveda to get kidney treatment and stay healthy.