Be Still My Racing Heart

Have you ever felt like your heart was hiccuping or felt your heartbeat pounding in your chest or neck? While these sensations are usually brief, they can be alarming and catch you off guard. What do they mean?

Heart Palpitations

Hearts typically beat 60-100 times per minute, methodically pumping blood throughout the body. A normal heart rhythm means that the heart is pumping regularly with an even pattern of beats in equal time.

Heart palpitations, however, are when heart rate accelerates to more than 100 beats per minute or becomes irregular. Palpitations can last for just a few seconds or stretch to a few minutes.

Other symptoms include:

• Feeling a flutter in your chest

• Pounding in your chest or neck

• Racing or skipping beats

You can check your pulse to determine your heart rate and feel whether your heart is pumping regularly by counting beats within one minute.

How Does Menopause Cause Heart Palpitations?

During menopause, estrogen production declines over time, causing a myriad of symptoms including hot flashes and night sweats.

Hot flashes and heart palpitations can feel very similar. In fact, limited studies identify heart palpitations as a prevalent symptom of menopause.

However, one study found that 1 out of 4 women experience heart palpitations before, during, or after a hot flash.

Hot Flashes or Heart Palpitations?

Since heart palpitations in menopause have not been well-studied, and are often grouped together with hot flashes, it begs the question of which comes first: the hot flash or the palpitation?

Every person in menopause experiences symptoms differently, which makes it essential to track them to determine patterns.

Each time you feel your heart racing, ask yourself the following questions:

1. When do the palpitations happen?

2. How long do they last?

3. What is happening before the palpitation?

4. Does any action help or stop the palpitation?

Tracking the answers to these questions with a date and time stamp can be valuable information to help you understand and appropriately manage your symptoms.

Keeping a record may help you see patterns, which can help you anticipate and cope better with palpitations.

Triggers of heart palpitations beyond menopause include:

• Anxiety

• Panic attacks

• Caffeine or nicotine

• Certain medications

• Dehydration

• Exercise

• Fever

How to Manage Palpitations

Depending on the pattern of your heart-related symptoms, you may be able to prevent or decrease the palpitations. The following actions may relieve or reduce the frequency of symptoms:

• Cutting out stimulants, such as caffeine or tobacco products

• Exercising regularly

• Keeping hydrated

• Managing anxiety

• Practicing relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or meditation

When to Call the Doctor

During menopause, hormone fluctuations can also increase your risk of heart disease. Notify your healthcare provider if your palpitations are:

• Causing dizziness or fainting

• Increasing in frequency

• Increasing in length

Your provider may want to investigate further with tests to determine if something more serious is going on.

When to Call 911

Serious symptoms may necessitate immediately calling 911. These symptoms may indicate that you are experiencing a heart attack:

• Dizziness

• Increased chest pain or pressure

• Nausea or vomiting that is not associated with an illness

• Pain in the arms, neck, or jaw

• Weaknesses

While heart palpitations in menopause are generally considered harmless, they can be worrying and confusing. Above all, it’s important to protect your health by seeking treatment if you are concerned about your heart sensations.

When more serious concerns have been ruled out, tracking and learning how to manage triggers of your palpitations can help you feel more at ease and less impacted by a racing heart during menopause.