Heart palpitations are experienced as a racing, fluttering, or throbbing heartbeat that is felt through the head, neck, or chest. Palpitations are sometimes accompanied by breathlessness and feelings of anxiety. Heart palpitation causes during exercise vary, but they can usually be attributed to your fitness level or health history.
What are heart palpitations?
Heart palpitations are the feeling that your heart is pounding, racing, or skipping beats (fluttering). While it’s expected to sense your heart “pounding” faster during exercise, palpitations occur when you feel this sensation at rest or during low-intensity activities.Â
Heart palpitations refer to noticeable changes in your heartbeat, indicating alterations in heart rate. While some palpitations may arise as a normal response to activities like vigorous exercise, others may signify irregular heart rhythms resulting from disruptions in the heart’s electrical system. These irregularities can lead to a faster, slower, or irregular heartbeat, known as arrhythmias, often necessitating medical attention.
What do heart palpitations feel like?
Heart palpitations manifest as a rapid, fluttery, or pulsating heartbeat sensed in the head, neck, or chest. They may coincide with breathlessness and heightened anxiety.
Experiencing a racing, pounding, fluttering, or irregular heartbeat after exercising is common. It’s often linked to factors like excessive caffeine consumption, medications, or lack of sleep. However, in some cases, it could signal an underlying heart issue.
Heart palpitations during, before, or after exercise often stem from a disruption in the heart’s normal electrical rhythm induced by physical activity. Factors like smoking, high blood pressure, or an unhealthy diet can heighten susceptibility to exercise-related palpitations. In rare instances, post-exercise palpitations may signal severe ailments like atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease or myocarditis.Â
What are the Common Heart Palpitation Causes?
Causes of heart palpitations can stem from various factors:
Heart-Related Causes:
Irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias are common triggers. While often harmless, they can sometimes signal severe issues like problems with heart valves.
Though less frequent, exercise-related irregular heartbeats could indicate:
- Arrhythmia, such as atrial fibrillation
- Heart valve abnormalities
- Coronary artery disease
- Myocarditis
Non-Heart-Related Causes:
Certain medications, supplements, and drugs can accelerate heart rate. Substances like caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco, along with panic attacks and medical conditions such as thyroid disorders and anemia, can also induce palpitations.
Unidentifiable Causes:
Sometimes, palpitations occur without an identifiable cause, affecting about 1 in 7 individuals experiencing them. Diagnosis involves a medical examination, discussions about medication, diet, and panic attacks, and may include tests like electrocardiograms and blood tests.Â
What are the Causes of Heart Palpitations During Exercises?
It’s common for individuals to encounter an elevated heart rate during physical activity, sometimes feeling like their heart is pounding. This sensation is particularly noticeable during specific types of workouts:
-
Cardiovascular TrainingÂ
Cardiovascular training focuses on enhancing heart and lung function. With regular cardio exercise, your body commonly experiences an elevated heart rate during exercise, sometimes feeling like your heart is pounding. This sensation is particularly noticeable during specific workouts, increasing heart rate.
-
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)Â
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) involves alternating between intense exercise and rest periods to maximize fat burning in a shorter duration. Due to its vigorous nature, HIIT sessions can make your heart feel like it’s pounding against your chest, accompanied by breathlessness.
-
Weight Training
Weight training engages muscles to build strength. While some individuals lift moderate weights for toning, others, such as bodybuilders, lift heavy weights. Weightlifters may experience heart palpitations characterized by pounding sensations in the ears or throat or a fluttering feeling.
Heart flutters may also occur when pushing oneself too hard during exercise or if a novice attempts to get in shape. If neither of these scenarios applies, alternative factors should be considered.Â
Are Palpitations During Exercise Dangerous?
It is unknown whether exercise alone causes heart palpitations that could be dangerous. Researchers of a study in the Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation found that exercise has such drastic effects on heart rate that it’s difficult to tell at first glance whether palpitations during exercise should cause alarm. However, that doesn’t mean you should ignore them if they occur.
When should you seek medical attention?
Although heart palpitations can be alarming regardless of the setting, they can often be transient fluctuations in heart rate triggered by various stimuli rather than indicative of an underlying health issue.
However, certain circumstances warrant prompt medical attention or even emergency care.
Benign Triggers
Heart palpitations often stem from common causes that typically subside once the triggering factors are addressed. Some of these include:
Exercise:Â Intense physical activity like running or swimming can elevate your heart rate, causing palpitations during and immediately after the workout. Palpitations should gradually diminish once exercise ceases.
Diet:Â Certain dietary factors can also induce heart palpitations. Consuming a high-carb meal when experiencing low blood sugar levels or consuming excessive caffeine from coffee or energy drinks may result in palpitations, which usually subside as the effects of caffeine wear off. Alcohol intake may also trigger palpitations.
Stress:Â Stressful situations, such as public speaking or avoiding a potential accident, can provoke heart palpitations and other physical symptoms like sweating and nausea. These sensations are typically short-lived.
Moderate Concern
Heart palpitations in the following scenarios warrant concern but may not constitute a medical emergency. Nevertheless, as they could indicate an underlying health issue, it’s advisable to schedule an appointment with a healthcare provider for further evaluation.
Anxiety:Â Excessive anxiety can trigger the body’s fight-or-flight response, activating the autonomic nervous system. Symptoms such as heart palpitations, rapid breathing, tense muscles, and nausea may manifest. If anxiety symptoms interfere with your daily functioning, it’s crucial to inform your doctor or seek assistance from a mental health professional.
Pregnancy:Â During pregnancy, the body undergoes numerousÂ
changes, such as elevated heart rate and increased blood volume. This can lead to heart palpitations, which may occur suddenly or during physical activity due to hormonal fluctuations. While these episodes are typically brief, persistent palpitations may indicate a more serious issue and should be promptly reported to your doctor.
Nighttime palpitations:Â Palpitations experienced at night may be triggered by alterations in breathing patterns during sleep. Recurrent nighttime palpitations could signify an underlying arrhythmia or other condition requiring evaluation by a healthcare professional.
Serious Concerns
There are three primary indicators that heart palpitations may signify an underlying health issue:
Persistent Duration:Â If palpitations persist long after the triggering event should have ended, it could indicate an underlying problem.
Frequent Occurrence: Palpitations occurring frequently without an obvious trigger, such as exercise, stress, or caffeine consumption, may suggest an arrhythmia.
Accompanying Symptoms:Â If palpitations are accompanied by symptoms of a heart attack or arrhythmia, such as chest pain, nausea, shortness of breath, intense anxiety, or unusual sweating, immediate medical attention is warranted.
If you experience symptoms suggestive of a heart attack, it’s imperative to dial 911 or visit the nearest hospital emergency department immediately.
Similarly, it’s essential to trust your intuition if you’re uncertain about handling heart palpitations but have a nagging feeling that something might be amiss. It’s preferable to err on the side of caution and seek a thorough medical assessment rather than risk ignoring potentially severe symptoms.
Tips for managing heart palpitations include:
-
Stress Management:Â
Practicing relaxation. Practices like deep breathing, meditation, yoga, and tai chi are beneficial techniques to prevent stress-induced palpitations and alleviate them if they occur.
-
Vagal Maneuvers:Â
Stimulating the vagus nerve, which regulates heart rate, can help normalize your heart rate. Techniques like splashing cold water on your face, taking a cold shower, holding your breath briefly, or bearing down like having a bowel movement may be effective.
-
Hydration:Â
Drinking water or electrolyte-rich sports drinks can alleviate palpitations caused by dehydration or electrolyte imbalances. Additionally, taking a moment to hydrate can shift your focus away from stressors.
-
Attention
The best thing you can do every time you exercise is to pay attention. Notice how your body is feeling throughout the workout. If you do experience heart palpitations, slow down or stop altogether. Make sure to write down what type of exercise you were doing when they occurred so that you can recall the details during your visit. It may also be helpful to write down what you ate or if you had any energy drinks beforehand since that may also have triggered the episode. When it comes to your heart health, safety is critical. Work with your doctor to devise a plan for exercising in the future that keeps your heart healthy.
Seek immediate medical attention if palpitations accompany chest discomfort, breathlessness, severe dizziness, or fainting, especially if you have a history of heart attack. Otherwise, monitor your symptoms and triggers, noting activities, dietary factors, and emotional states. If symptoms continue, seeking medical advice for further evaluation is advisable.
-
Adjustments
Mitigating heart palpitations involves avoiding substances like illegal drugs and moderating the consumption of caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco. Lifestyle adjustments and practicing stress management techniques may assist in calming the heart and fostering peace of mind too.
Understanding when to seek medical assessment for palpitations is crucial for obtaining proper diagnosis and treatment. Keeping track of palpitation episodes and sharing this information with the doctor can aid in determining potential causes.
Conclusion:
Heart palpitations can impact individuals of all ages. Coping with heart palpitations becomes more manageable when you identify and avoid their triggers. Wearing a heart monitor or consulting a cardiologist for further evaluation is also advised.Â