Menopause heart palpitations can feel frightening and uncomfortable. The sensations vary from woman to woman, but commonly involve feeling like your heart is racing, fluttering or skipping beats.
Some typical sensations of menopause heart palpitations include:
- Feeling like your heart suddenly starts beating much faster or harder for no reason
- Feeling like your heart is fluttering, thumping or pounding
- Brief moments where it feels like your heart skips a beat or stops
- A sudden sensation of your heart beating rapidly or irregularly, which may last for a few seconds or minutes
What's happening inside?
The hormonal fluctuations of menopause can disrupt the electrical signals that control your heartbeat, resulting in palpitations. Specifically:
- Declining estrogen levels can disrupt your vascular and heart function
- Progesterone changes can contribute to heart rhythm abnormalities
- Your autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary functions like heart rate, becomes less regulated
This instability of signals leads to temporary alterations in your heart rate and rhythm that you feel as palpitations. They may come and go at random times.
When are they most likely?
- During times of stress or anxiety
- After eating certain foods or drinks high in sugar, caffeine or alcohol
- From lack of sleep or fatigue
- During or after physical exertion or exercise
How long do they last?
- Most menopausal heart palpitations are brief, lasting only a few seconds or minutes when they occur
- But they may come and go frequently throughout the day
Are they dangerous?
For most women, menopausal heart palpitations are harmless, albeit unpleasant. They don’t indicate heart disease on their own.
However, palpitations can potentially signal heart issues if they:
- Occur alongside symptoms like chest pain, dizziness or shortness of breath
- Feel prolonged or severe
- You have other cardiac risk factors like high blood pressure or high cholesterol
So it’s wise to discuss persistent, frequent or worrying palpitations with your doctor. They can do tests to check if there's an underlying heart problem causing them.
What can I do to manage them?
Making certain lifestyle changes may help prevent or minimize menopausal heart palpitations:
- Hydrate well - being dehydrated can trigger palpitations
- Limit alcohol, caffeine and high-sugar foods
- Take time to destress - try yoga, meditation, etc.
- Improve sleep habits
- Exercise moderately - intense workouts can trigger them
- Consider bioidentical hormone therapy - may stabilize estrogen levels
Some women also find relief through:
- Herbal remedies like black cohosh, motherwort or magnesium
- Medications like beta blockers, which control heart rate
If palpitations persist despite lifestyle changes, do see your doctor or gynecologist. They can explore whether hormone therapy, medications or additional treatments may help provide symptom relief.
The Hormone Health Institute Advantage
At Hormone Health Institute, we specialize in helping women address menopausal symptoms like heart palpitations through
customized bioidentical hormone therapy plans. Our compassionate doctors take the time to understand your health history and needs in order to determine optimal hormone formulations, doses and delivery methods to help regulate your levels.
We closely monitor your progress to make thoughtful adjustments, with the goal of stabilizing symptoms for your comfort and well-being. We also provide nutritional counseling and lifestyle support.
We offer telehealth appointments for your convenience.
