Heart Palpitations

Calming strategies for skipped Beats

It’s long past midnight and you’re lying in bed, wide awake and frightened. You can’t fall back to sleep because something seems to be wrong with your heart. It skipped a beat when you first woke up, and now you’re lying in the darkness, waiting to see if it’ll fall into that distinctive rhythm again.

So now you worry that you’re having a heart attack you’re going to die or you’ll die of embarrassment if you go to the accident and emergency unit and find out that nothing is wrong after all. Chances are, none of the above will occur. Skipped heartbeats generally referred to as palpitations are incredibly common and they’re not cause for panic.

Any strange heartbeat that occurs once or twice and attracts your attention qualifies as a palpitation. The heart isn’t actually skipping a beat; what you feel is a less forceful beat followed by one with more force than you’re used to. Whether your heart seems to be skipping, flipping or leaping into your throat, you probably aren’t in danger. Peoples frequently notice what feels like a skipped beat when they wake up after a bad dream, especially if they’ve been lying on their left side. Your heart is close to the chest wall on the left and if you’re lying on that side, you are more likely to notice a skipped beat.

What can you do to prevent these frightening but harmless palpitations from recurring? Here’s what some palpitations are caused by anxiety, just taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling will relieve tension and discourage future skips. Spending too little time at exercise (like walking) or other active pursuits like gardening can cause palpitations simply because your heart which is after all, a muscle is out of shape. To put your heart in peak condition, try to exercise 3 to 4 times a week for at least 30 minutes. You should work your body at 50 to 75% of its aerobic capacity. Translation? If you re walking, walk fast enough so that you can talk but not sing. Drinking alcohol can cause palpitations, and so injurious for entire body, don’t use alcohol at all, alcohol can cause palpitations. Over indulgence leads to what doctors have bubbed holiday heart irregular heartbeat experienced by those who over indulge at holiday parties and then end up in the emergency unit. But it can happen any time of the year.

There’s no way to tell exactly how much alcohol it takes to interfere with your heartbeat, because alcohol is bad in all conditions, nor can doctors tell in advance who will develop alcohol induced palpitations and who won’t. So to help kep your heart on an even keel, many experts believes drinking alcohol is so injurious for your heart and caused palpitations. A drink is generally considered to be one measure of spirits or its equivalent in a cocktail; one 350 ml can, bottle or mug of beer or 150ml of table wine. Caffeine is what gives coffee, tea, chocolate and even some over the counter drugs headache remedies for example their stimulating effects. So if you’re bothered by palpitations it makes sense to avoid anything containing caffeine. Nicotine and other chemicals in cigarette smoke can constrict arteries and encourage heart palpitations. So if you smoke quit. If you exercise regularly, don’t  over indulge and your doctor has determined that you don’t have heart disease, yet your heart seems to occasionally skip a beat, chances are that your palpitations are nothing to worry about. If you don’t dwell on them you’re less apt to notice repeat episodes.

You need to see your doctor when if your heart seems to skip a beat, more than just momentarily or more than once in a while, you should see a doctor. Medical attention is also in order if your heart skips a beat and;

You feel as though you are about to pass out

You also have swollen ankles or shortness of breath

You have any form of heart disease

You have chest pain or pressure.