Heart Palpitations and Menopause

If you are nearing the age of menopause, chances are you have done some degree of research so you know what to expect. The list of symptoms seems a little overwhelming but keep in mind that these symptoms are manageable. While you would expect to experience things such as hot flashes and night sweats, joint pain, insomnia, headaches, weight gain, mood swings, concentration difficulty, irritation, and more, probably one that can be alarming is the heart palpitations and menopause.

Since heart disease is a top killer for women, great fear is instilled when the palpitations are felt. Typically, a woman is simply not aware of what is occurring. Some women will pass the symptom off as nothing while other women become very worried.

Keep in mind that heart palpitations and menopause is actually a very common aspect of the change of life. With heart palpitations and menopause, there is a sensation of the heart pounding uncontrollably. Usually, these palpitations when associated with menopause are transient, occurring on occasion over about a month or two.

Now, you can do a few things to help reduce or eliminate the palpitations altogether. For starters, avoid any type of stimulant such as caffeine found in coffee, tea, and soda. This would also be an excellent time to stop smoking since nicotine is also a stimulant. Other things that could trigger heart palpitations during menopause include taking diet pills, thyroid hormone replacement medication, antidepressants, and other drugs. If you have concerns, speak with your doctor to see if any medication you are currently taking could be the culprit. More than likely, your doctor will want to do a physical examination to ensure nothing more serious is going on.

Remember that other medical conditions can be the cause of heart palpitations to include anxiety, anemia, low blood sugar, certain thyroid problems, and mitral valve prolapse, which is a mild deformity in one of the heart’s valves. If you are premenopausal, the palpitations are likely not associated with anything of concern. However, if you should continue to have this pounding of the heart of at any time become overly sweaty, have numbness in one of your arms, pain in the shoulder blades, chest pain, or shortness of breath, call 911.

Finally, for heart palpitations and menopause, if you notice that they start or become worse while physically active, stop what you are doing and rest until the pounding in the chest ceases. You also want to do what you can to reduce any stress. This might mean taking a walk, sipping a cup of caffeine free tea, inhaling and exhaling several slow breaths, or lying down to rest. If you are a smoker, this would be the perfect time to give the habit up. Not only will the heart palpitations stop but you will be doing your overall health a big favor.