It's normal for your heart to beat faster for a minute or two if you're hurrying or doing something that requires physical exertion. But it's not normal if you experience irregular or pounding surges that feels like your heart is going to jump out of your chest. That is, it isn't normal unless of course you are going through perimenopause. Heart palpitations are considered an early symptom of perimenopause; they often result from hormone fluctuation and stress.
As your estrogen levels begin to rise through the first two weeks of your normal menstrual cycle, then the progesterone levels increase after ovulation to help prepare the uterus for a potential baby. Progesterone plays its role of relaxing the hormonal balance and aids in the metabolism of estrogen.
All that organization changes when you enter into perimenopause and each hormone is racing around trying its best to adjust. Your body stops ovulating every month or two, so the progesterone level remains low and relaxed. This allows your estrogen to go nuts and become the dominant hormone. Then a follicle-stimulating hormone called FSH increases as your body tries to stimulate ovulation. All of this is just too much for your heart to comprehend and the progesterone isn't strong enough to soothe the heart, which produces arrhythmias.
If you are already experiencing some stress because of hormonal changes, a palpitating heart will only add even more stress to your already overloaded system. When your body can't cope with all this stress, it could go into adrenal fatigue. Then you're really in a mess because your heart starts racing, you experience shortness of breath and to top it off you get a headache of unbelievable intensity.
What Should You Do If You Are Experiencing Heart Palpitations
It doesn't matter whether the palpitations are caused by menopause or not, if your heart is racing and you feel it throbbing, you need to seek medical attention. Your physician may suggest you visit a cardiologist to check for any serious abnormalities. If your health practitioner believes the palpitations are strictly due to hormone imbalances and stress, they may recommend prescriptions to help balance your hormones and alleviate your discomfort. If you should be diagnosed with panic attacks, which result in overwhelming periods of anxiety, a rapid heartbeat, and dizziness, your physician will advise the appropriate treatment, possibly to include mental health counseling.
If your health care provider determines your palpations are caused by hormonal changes and you are not comfortable with hormone replacement therapy (due to the increased risk of heart attack), you might prefer to take a more natural approach to try to relieve your palpitations. If you enjoy tea, occasionally drink some Chamomile or your favorite “Sleepy Time” tea. It's important that you try to eliminate as much stress from your life as possible, and if you can't eliminate it try to minimize your reaction to it. If it upsets you to talk about it, don't talk about it.
When you first feel the palpitations coming on, stop what you are doing and try to relax. If that means going to your favorite chair, sitting there and starring out the window, do it. If it means going to lay down on the bed to relax until the palpitations subside, do it. If you fall asleep while lying there, so what, the world isn't going to end. It's important that you understand your body is going through some traumatic changes and your first priority is to take care of yourself. |
![[Valid RSS feed]](/images/icon_Rss.png "The Author : XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
Html & Info
Post a Comment
