Heart Palpitations: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment (2024)

FAQs

What is the main cause of heart palpitations? ›

Heart palpitations can feel like pounding, flip-flopping or the wrong amount of heartbeats. Most people get them because of anxiety. Other causes include: pregnancy, caffeine, alcohol or spicy food.

Treatment for heart palpitations depends on the cause. They often do not need to be treated. Avoiding things that can trigger palpitations, such as stress, smoking, caffeine and alcohol, can help. You may have an electrocardiogram (ECG) to help find out what the cause might be.

Drink enough water

Dehydration can cause heart palpitations. That's because your blood contains water, so when you become dehydrated, your blood can become thicker. The thicker your blood is, the harder your heart has to work to move it through your veins.

Drink: Water

Simply put, when you're dehydrated, you body doesn't function well. You have less blood circulating through your body when you're dehydrated. To make up for this, the heart is strained because it has to beat faster and work harder to pump blood throughout the body.

Another vitamin deficiency that can lead to heart palpitations is vitamin B12. Similar to a folate deficiency, a lack of vitamin B12 can lead to anaemia and thereby result in heart palpitations, per the ODS. Vitamin D is another supplement that can cause heart palpitations when taken in large amounts.

Deep breathing is one of the best ways to calm your mind and your racing heart. “When we fill up our body with oxygen, it helps to let our system know that we're OK. There's no danger here and we don't need to be on guard for attack,” Dr.

When to go to the emergency room (ER) for heart palpitations. Heart palpitations that last longer than 30 seconds are considered a medical emergency. Sustained heart palpitations could indicate a pre-existing heart disease such as a heart valve disorder, coronary artery disease or a life-threatening heart arrhythmia.

If you're experiencing what feels like frequent or prolonged episodes of palpitations, or you're also having symptoms such as chest pain or dizziness when you have these episodes, it's a good idea to talk to your GP.

How to calm your heart from beating fast? ›

Ways to slow a fast heart rate include: Vagal maneuvers. Simple but specific actions such as coughing, bearing down as if passing stool or putting an ice pack on the face can help slow down the heart rate. Your healthcare team may ask you to do these specific actions during an episode of a fast heartbeat.

An arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm, where the heart beats irregularly, too fast or too slowly. A palpitation is a short-lived feeling of your heart racing, fluttering, thumping or pounding in your chest. An occasional palpitation that does not affect your general health is not usually something to worry about.

Stress, exercise, medication or, rarely, a medical condition can trigger them. Although heart palpitations can be worrisome, they're usually harmless. Rarely, heart palpitations can be a symptom of a more serious heart condition, such as an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), that might require treatment.

Vitamin B6 prevents hypercholesterolaemia by decreasing LDL levels. Vitamin B12 counteracts increased heart palpitations which is the side effect of vitamin B2. Vitamin C increases oestrogen levels in the body, it is also involved in endometrial thickening.

If you're experiencing what feels like frequent or prolonged episodes of palpitations, or you're also having symptoms such as chest pain or dizziness when you have these episodes, it's a good idea to talk to your GP.

Some of these deaths could be avoided if the arrhythmias were diagnosed earlier. Common triggers for an arrhythmia are viral illnesses, alcohol, tobacco, changes in posture, exercise, drinks containing caffeine, certain over-the-counter and prescribed medicines, and illegal recreational drugs.