It has been a little while since I last wrote a blog post. I have tried to stay active in the comment section of each post, but a major project at work has kept me busy for the last few months. But now I am ready to jump back into the rubrics cube of heart palpitations. And it couldn’t come at a better time. The same life changes that lead to my irregular heart beat back in 2009 are happening again. My wife and I just had our third child, we are in the process of moving again, and my job is changing. It’s a palpitation “perfect storm.” But this time, my goal is to prepare myself and come out of the storm a better man.
Photo Credit: Andreas Krappweis
So over the next few weeks and months, I will be going back through all my research and notes and blogging about what has helped me in my journey to manage/cure my heart palpitaitons as well as what has helped others with their irregular heartbeats.
Here is a quick overview of what I will be covering:
- A Medical Look at Heart Palpitations
- Forming a Heart Palpitation Battle Plan
- Fitness and Heart Palpitations
- Sleep and Heart Palpitations
- Stress and Anxiety Management
- Rewiring your mind
- Breathing Techniques
- Audio/Visual Therapy
- Financial Management
- Meditation
- Productivity/Organization Management
- Intentional Rest
- Healthy Habits
- Nutrition
- Foods that affect Heart Palpitations
- Supplements that help Heart Palpitations
- Medicines that reduce Heart Palpitations
- Cure Theories
- Helpful Resources
Hopefully you find some of this helpful. I would love your feedback and input along the way so be sure to stop by and let me know what has and has not helped you in your journey.
If you haven’t signed up for our email list, be sure to sign up at the bottom of this article or on the sidebar so you can be emailed with each new post (no spam, I promise).
Is there anything in particular that you would like me to try to cover on the blog regarding heart palpitations?
I am very excited about all that you will be covering. First let me say congratulations on your third child! I will be praying for y’all. I have four…..Do we need any other explanation for palpitations?!! My oldest will be 13 soon and my youngest is 2! I homeschool. Yes i lost my mind years ago! I wrote before that i was beginning to walk 30 minutes a day. It’s a brisk walk and gets my heart rate up good. I have been doing this now for a couple of months. This has helped tremendously! I still have one or two palpitations each day, but I’m feeling much more confident that they could go away completely. I try to drink plenty of water and take in no caffeine….well….except for chocolate which i have discovered increases my palpitations so i am trying to keep that VERY limited. I should probably try to do without completely but…….anyway! I DO believe nutrition is KEY! Now i am trying to focus on proper sleep. And, of course, i believe the most important element….trust in God! Proverbs 3:5,6. Thanks again for this blog! It’s great!
Thanks April! I really appreciate your kind words. I can’t imaging trying to wrangle and homeschool four kids! God bless you. And that is awesome that you are down to only a few palpitations a day. I think your approach to curing your heart palpitations is spot on. Sleep, exercise, fitness, and my faith are probably the top four things that have helped me the most as well. I hope you find complete healing/relief soon. If you find anything else nutritionally that you find helpful, please be sure to let us know. It sounds like you are on the right track. Thanks for the encouragement!
Just wanted to share how much I appreciate your blog. Just knowing that there are so many people just like myself, who regularly deal with palpitations, is comforting.
I’m only 25 years old, active, healthy male, and starting dealing with palpitations last year. I think what scared me the most about them is that I have so much going for me; awesome girlfriend, great family, and a promising career. If something were to happen I would be losing so much.
Like you and many others, it’s taken some convincing that there’s nothing wrong with me, and that it’s primarily anxiety induced. While it sounds like my situation isn’t as troubling as others – I can go days or weeks without a palpitations – your blog has inspired me to be more proactive in managing my stress and anxiety, and to indentify triggers.
While I agree that exercise is a great outlet, did you ever find that the stress/anxiety of thinking about your next palpitations, limited your ability to go workout? Lately I feel like I’m too fixated on my heart beat when jogging for instance, causing my heart rate to elevate more than it should (at least more than it feels it should). It’s kind of become a deterrent to motivating myself to get to the gym.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your experiences. Much appreciated.
Matt, thank you for your kind words. I’m glad you found the site helpful and that you are proactively managing your heart palpitations and anxiety. I have found in the past that when I am really anxious it does affect my workout (maybe my heart is already overworked from all the stress). I found it harder to run and workout than usual. But instead of becoming a deterrent, it made me try to be more consistent with my workouts, which reduced the anxiety and stress, and made me feel a whole lot better overall. Every now and then I miss a few days, eat terribly, the anxiety creeps back, and I feel out of shape and exhausted when I exercise. But I have always found that after a few days, I break through that wall and get going again. However, if you ever feel dizzy or have chest pains or trouble breathing, definitely stop working out and get that checked out with your doctor. Better safe than sorry. Sounds like you are on the right path though. Thanks again for sharing your story. If you find anything that helps reduce your anxiety and heart palpitations that might be helpful to others, please be sure to let us know. All the best!
Hello, my name is Lauren. I am a 26 y/o single mother. Last year I lost 3 very important family members in just 7 months time. The last being my younger and only brother. He passed in May of 2013 and 1 month later I developed HPs.
I went tk a cardiologist and he said they were benign. But because of all my stress and anxiety(btw I have a panic disorder) that he would give me the beta blocker bystolic. Well it did help a little but I still have them and the medicine makes me weak and always tired. It has even made me pale. I guess what im asking is, when ur HPs come do they last all day? Mine wont stop until I sleep. Only then do they reset. I am overweight and dont eat right. But I guess j feel like I shouldn’t have a problem like this at only 26. I am scared that I may die. My anxiety plus HPs equals a scared woman that rarely leaves my home. I found this blog and felt better. I didnt know other people we just like me. Thanks
Lauren, I am so sorry to hear about your difficult year last year. I can’t imagine loosing a younger sibling (or any sibling for that matter). I think it is fairly common to develop heart palpitations after such a difficult ordeal. As far as the frequency of heart palpitations is concerned, at the height of my struggle with palpitations, I was having skipped beats sporadically every few seconds and it lasted all day as well. It was miserable. I thought they would never go away, but over time they did. It took a lot longer than I wanted and I still get bad days here and there, but nothing like before. Dealing with anxiety is a constant struggle, but it’s a definitely something that can be managed. Use these harmless palpitations as simple reminders to eat better, get more sleep, spend more time with family, find joy in the little things, cry out to God, give back to others, get in shape, etc. If the doctor says they are harmless then go in confidence. Get checked out annually and let him/her know if there are any new symptoms. But your doctor told you they were benign so don’t let them have power over your life anymore. Think of them as little accountability partners to help you make the most of you life here on earth. I wish you all the best in your journey. Hang in there and know there is hope!
Thank you so much. God bless
Hello, I am Emily. I am so happy to have found this excellent resource. Thank you for all of your time and hard work!
I have had anxiety most of my life. When I was young, it was only occasional…but, as I age it gets worse. For so many years I was in and out of ER’s and dr offices with no answers other than,” take this anti-anxiety med, you are just having a panic attack”. I would explain to the dr’s that even when taking the anxiety meds, I still felt crappy, I just didn’t care due to the drug numbing my emotions.
A year and a half ago, I had my 2nd and final baby. A few weeks after the birth, I developed post partum preeclampsia. That lasted 3 months. Right after the blood pressure evened out, I started my “monthly cycle”. The day the cycle started, I went into major tachycardia(over 250 bpm). I was taken to the ER and given adenosine. It stopped the tachycardia, but I went into anaphylactic shock and was on life support for a few days while the drug left my body. I did a month long heart monitor which showed a lot of heart palps that if I was not able to stop them, turned into tachycardia. Due to being allergic to the medications used to treat it in an emergency, my dr convinced me to have a heart ablation. The procedure went fine and the palps stopped or at least dwindled for a few months.
Then, I was diagnosed with PMDD and Type II diabetes. The hypersensitivity to hormonal changes may be the cause of my heart flutters and skips…I was put on a medication for the PMDD. Funny, the meds to treat the anxiety and PMDD have heart abnormalities listed in the side effects…well, that is what I am anxious about and trying to get rid of! Why do they prescribe things that cause more of the same problem?
I am going through a bit of stress now with my older child just starting school this week and I am going back to college next week. I am worried about having episodes in public and without familiar “comfort” people around me. So, sitting in 3 hour classes is an overwhelming thought. But, I need to do this for my family’s future.
The hear palps have been pretty strong this past week. I assume mine are related to the PMDD and anxiety because I feel a strange sensation build up in my chest and then the “popping” feeling in my heart region. It make me instantly sit up and gasp for air…coughing until it subsides. Immediately afterwards, my bladder is painfully full…ever time. Strange.
I find that I get anxiety every time I have to do anything that I don’t want to do or don’t feel comfortable doing. I often have to force myself to do things…even just going to run errands, because I am so afraid I am going to have “crazy heart” and not be able to stop it before it gets out of control.
Years ago, I had to take a few health course to work at a care home for disabled adults. The instructor was talking about the symptoms of strokes and heart attacks. I said, “I feel all of those on a daily basis!” I had felt that way for so long, that I just thought that was normal. LOL
So, my big question, to ease my mind and help me recover from at least the anxiety aspect of HP, is how do I know if an episode is the real deal or just harmless heart palps? It is not reasonable to go to the ER daily to have them checked out. I have one kid in kindergarten and a baby at home, so I am always concerned that something is going to happen and the baby is going to be alone until their dad gets home…and I am not ready to die just yet. But, I will go over plans in my head and have the phone ready to call for help, etc. Once I have a HP, the rest of the day is shot. My heart just feels off the rest of the day, even if there are not any more palps. And of course, I obsess about it the rest of the day. I know I am my own worst enemy and have to remove the bad thoughts. But, it would be very helpful if I could have a tool at hand to help me know it is just a harmless episode. It concerns me that I won’t be able to recognize a heart attack if and when it really happens.
Thank you so much!
Congrats on the baby! I ‘m 38 and my kids are older so I’ve been where you are. I feel for you so much. This is a stressful time for you. Your hormones are unstable and your sleep is probably disturbed. I just really want you to take care of yourself and try not to worry. You are in God’s hands!!! Whether you are religious or not, I believe this is true! I wish I would have been easier on myself when my babies were little and would have allowed people to help. I’m glad you found the sight. My best advice(that I constantly have to utilize myself-LOL- is to LET IT GO! Let things go. Don’t clean the house! Take a nap! Cut negetivity out of your life! This includes people and news stories, Tv shows, internet, etc. Anything that adds to your anxiety. Take it slow. You’ll get there!
Thank you! I have had palpitations off and on for years (I will be 74 this month), usually associated with too much coffee through periods of high stress at work. However, for the last five days they have been almost constant. I found your website and am now sitting peacefully in my favorite chair! I have no idea what worked – I tried all 6 ‘stop’ remedies as I read them, practiced my deep breathing, ate a banana and sat up straighter. They are gone! I don’t really care which worked – it’s easy enough to do them all…or the ones I can remember 🙂 Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I”m not sure i’m having the same thing you are talking about…sorry this is so long and not sure i’m posting in the right place.
I started a month ago with a “tightness” in my chest and a burning.
I went to my pcp who sent me right to a cardio doc…they did an ekg and an echo…all was fine…i wasn’t happy with that so i went for a second opinion that week. ..same thing..they did an ekg and an echo..they said all was fine.
All that week and the next week i felt like my heart was going to come out of my chest…it’s not a skipped beat feeling but a constant “awareness” of my heart beat ..i feel it beating very fast and hard but it rarely goes over 100bpm.
At that point i flipped out because i’m afraid to go to the gym or even go to sleep for that matter. I now go to ANOTHER cardiologist who does an echo stress test without dye. I passed that with flying colors. Yet i still have this horrible feeling sometimes when i’m just sitting here i feel my heart beating rapidly…or when i go up the steps it beats so hard i can’t catch my breath. i WAS up until this start very physically fit so i shouldn’t be feeling winded from walking up a flight of stairs.
Now they are going to order a 48 hour halter monitor for me to pick up next week.
In the mean time i’m scared to go out far thinking i’m going to drop dead of heart attack…this past month has been a night mare.
This has all come on so suddenly…i just woke up one day last month and my heart was racing and it’s been down hill ever since.
Hi I am a mother of 3 and have heart palpitations as well! Mine seem to always come along with a bloated stomach and monthly hormone changes! I started tracking them these last several months and have found hormone patterns to them! I am on day 8 of skipping beats and flutters for most of the day! I usually only have them for a few days really bad, and then they lighten up again! But this week has been pretty miserable! My cardiologist has done stress echos, ekg’s, 30 day halter monitors for two months in a row! My cardio doc says there is a strong connection to bowel issues and racing/skipping beats! He tells me its nerve stimulation and pressure from constipation! When you read about the vagal Nerve and its functions, you will realize how closely related the bowels are to the issues with cardiac response! Almost always when i get a palpitation i have gas in my intestines that is moving, or i have a bowel movement within minutes! Problem with this week is im really having a tough time going #2 so hence the increase and consistency of the HP! My bowels feel slow and lazy! I am Supplementing with magnesium citrate in the pill form twice a day to help get things to moved more! And bring ease to my emotions and heart! Ive been suffering from HP since i was pregnant with my 2nd child at age 20! 9 years of suffering here booooooo!:( But heres the good thing! Im still alive! I also get the racing after meals and random times in the middle of the night! No SVT was seen on monitors just sinus tach! I called an ambulance just so i could get a reading of these episodes for my dr and then kindly sent them back home haha! Heres the thing tho! I still get so upset and a bit anxious about them when they are this bad, this is what i feel when they happen; boomboom….boom…..boom…..boomboom flop flop flutter then back to normal rhythm boom…boom…boom and then a few beats later maybe 10 another episode! Sometimes i get a break for an hour from them! Its like heaven opened up and god smiles on me hehe the relief feels like a miracle! I know the lord has my day picked when i will return to my place with him, but my dad died at 36 due to cardiac issues and id really like to watch my babes grow up! So no matter how much I trust the lords timing here for me, i still get nervous when they happen! especially if im alone or driving! Man i think ive nearly jerked off the road with a skipped beat before aaaaaahhh! I also really dislike the little mini hot flash right when it happens! my adrenaline tries to kick in i think! I think the biggest threat us HP suffers get is “oh my gosh will this stop or is this it this time” Am I right? I dont have the anxiety before it happens so i really dont think im all panicking and thats why im getting them, i truly believe mine are due to stomach and intestinal problems like IBS! I keep a food diary that says no MILK no ONIONS! Those two things make me so bloated and inflame my intestines for several days and cause my heart to scream at me! I hope i bring relief to anyone reading this, that if you are like me and notice a connection between your bowels and your heart, im here to tell you your probably right! Im also here to tell you that through all my Cardio doc visits and wonderful 5 day staycations at the hospital they have never found anything dangerous or life threatening and tell me i will live to fight another day hahaaha! If you dont have any underlying heart disease palpitations are very unlikely to take your life! They are however likely to make you feel nutso when they are happening…..oh just had one……… yep im still alive …..phew! ha! im learning to make fun and light of them because the negative thoughts and scared emotions are only going to trigger more and future fear! I am naturally a cautious person! Apparently i love to be healthy! Go me!! But there is a deep connection to health and well being! Eat well, exercise, smile, and pray!! God has the final say! If we could only see the glory of his kingdom we would all be wishing that skipped beat was truly our last! Blessings to this blog and the blog owner! I pray and hope i have touched a heart and healed a fear today for someone out there who is sitting and reading this just looking for the relief that i also need from time to time!! Your not alone…..and you will be ok! Fear wants to cripple you, but hope and Jesus will change your perspective and might even completely heal your body!
Hi any one on bispronal feeling nausea
Please send me 6 ways to stop palpitation.
Kind Regards WGlebocki