If you have ever found yourself in a stressful situation when your heart starts beating faster and skipping a beat or two, you have probably wondered whether anxiety can cause an irregular heartbeat. The answer is yes. Anxiety can cause an irregular heartbeat because of the body’s natural response to a stressful event.
The answer above may be both comforting and confusing. Comforting because you are not going crazy. Confusing because anything related to the heart always sounds ominous. We shall discuss this issue in a calm and gentle manner so that we can understand what is going on and when we need medical intervention.
The Real Connection Between Anxiety and Your Heart
Your heart and brain are constantly communicating with each other. They do not operate independently of each other. When your brain picks up on stress, fear, or anxiety, it triggers your body’s natural alarm system, which is called the fight or flight response.
Your body has something called an autonomic nervous system that regulates your fight or flight response. When anxiety strikes, your sympathetic nervous system is activated. It immediately sends signals that release adrenaline and cortisol into your body.
Your heart will immediately react to these hormones. It may start beating faster. It may start beating stronger. It may even start beating irregularly. That is why anxiety is known to trigger irregular heartbeats.
The key thing to remember is that it is protecting you. It believes that something is wrong, even if it is something as simple as a stressful email or a stressful conversation.
What Does an Anxiety-Related Irregular Heartbeat Feel Like?
People describe it differently. Some describe it as if their heart is pounding in their chest. Others describe it as fluttering. Some describe it as a pause and then a thumping.
All these feelings are called palpitations. During anxiety, you may experience a rapid heartbeat, medically called tachycardia. You may be aware of your heartbeat more than usual, especially when you are sitting quietly.
You may experience shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, trembling, or feelings of panic at the same time. This is a strong indication that anxiety is at work.
What sets anxiety-related changes in the heart apart from most major heart problems is that they tend to happen during stressful periods and stop when you calm down.
Why Anxiety Can Cause Irregular Heartbeat?
To understand the reasons for an irregular heart rhythm due to anxiety, it is important to understand the physical mechanisms involved in the process.
When you experience an adrenaline rush, your heart beats faster, and the muscles in the heart become more sensitive to the signals sent by the brain. The heart works through an electric signal, and when the signals get overstimulated, you may feel an extra beat in the heart, also known as skipped beats.
At the same time, the experience of anxiety also causes you to breathe faster than you normally would, even if you don’t realize it. This can also cause the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood to change, thereby causing an irregular heart rhythm.
Stress can also cause the blood vessels to constrict slightly, thereby causing the blood to flow through the body irregularly.
It is a dramatic experience, but for most people, it is not life-threatening when they are in a state of perfect health.
When It’s Usually Harmless
If your irregular heartbeats are present only during stressful times, are relieved by relaxing, and are accompanied by other symptoms of anxiety, it is likely that they are related to anxiety and not a physical problem with your heart.
For example, if your heart races while you are giving a speech, but slows down when you sit down and breathe slowly, your irregular heartbeats are likely related to anxiety.
It is very common for people to become more anxious as they realize that their heart has changed, which makes the symptoms worse. This is a vicious circle. You feel your heart. You become anxious. The anxiety makes your heart beat faster. The faster heartbeat makes your symptoms more obvious.
The only way to stop these symptoms is to break this circle.
When You Should Take It Seriously
Although anxiety may trigger irregular heartbeats, it is still important that you do not take them lightly.
If irregular heartbeats occur during physical activity without anxiety, if they are recurring and unpredictable, or if they occur with chest pain, fainting, severe shortness of breath, jaw pain, or arm pain, it is best that you get checked by a doctor. It is always best to get checked if you are experiencing irregular heartbeats, which may be caused by conditions such as atrial fibrillation, premature ventricular contractions, or other arrhythmias.
Getting checked is not being paranoid; it is being responsible.
Can Chronic Anxiety Affect Heart Health Long-Term?
Short-term anxiety episodes will not cause permanent damage to the heart in normal individuals. However, long-term anxiety may cause general cardiovascular stress.
Chronic stress keeps your nervous system “on” more often than it should be. This, in turn, may affect blood pressure, levels of inflammation, and your lifestyle choices, including your sleep, diet, and exercise.
That doesn’t mean that anxiety will cause you to get serious heart disease. Managing anxiety is important to your overall well-being, including your heart.
What To Do When Your Heart Starts Racing?
When you sense the irregularity in heartbeats when anxious, the objective is to soothe the nervous system.
Breathing slowly is one of the quickest ways to soothe the nervous system. Breathe in slowly through the nose for four seconds, hold the breath in for four seconds, and breathe out through the mouth for six seconds. Long breaths out are a sign of safety for the brain.
Grounding techniques also help soothe the nervous system. Look around and try to identify the things you see. Try to feel the soles of your feet on the ground. Try to bring yourself out of the anxiety in your chest and into the real world.
Cutting back on caffeine is also a significant way of reducing the incidence of irregular heartbeats when anxious. Caffeine stimulates the nervous system just like anxiety does. If you are already sensitive to the rhythm of heartbeats, cutting back on caffeine is a sure way of reducing the incidence.
Exercise, adequate sleep, proper meals, and counseling are also effective in reducing the incidence of irregular heartbeats when anxious.
Treating Anxiety Often Reduces Heart Symptoms
It has been found that when a person’s anxiety level improves, their heart symptoms tend to disappear.
Cognitive behavioral therapy assists in changing thinking patterns that lead to anxiety. Mindfulness techniques assist in controlling breathing and nervous balance. In some cases, medication may be prescribed to lower the level of anxiety.
The brain and heart are connected.
Conclusion
So, can anxiety cause an irregular heartbeat? The answer is, yes, it absolutely can! Anxiety causes the fight-or-flight response, the release of stress hormones, increased heart sensitivity, and changes in breathing patterns. All of these can temporarily interrupt the heart’s rhythm.
For most people, these symptoms can be uncomfortable but not life-threatening. The trick is to learn to recognize the pattern, rule out other possibilities if needed, and deal with the anxiety.
The heart is responding to the brain’s signals. Calming the brain calms the heart, too.
If you ever have any concerns, it is always best to get checked by a healthcare professional. Being clear about what is going on is the best way to conquer fear, and conquering fear is the best way to conquer the symptoms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can anxiety cause irregular heartbeats?
Yes, anxiety can cause irregular heartbeats. Anxiety can cause irregular heartbeats due to its effect on the body’s “fight or flight” mechanism, which can increase levels of adrenaline in the body.
How long can anxiety-induced irregular heartbeats last?
The irregular heartbeats can last from a few seconds up to several minutes. In some cases, irregular heartbeats can occur intermittently during a period of anxiety.
Is irregular heart rhythm due to anxiety a dangerous condition?
In most cases, irregular heartbeats due to anxiety are not a dangerous condition. However, it is important that such a condition be checked by a physician, especially if it persists or is severe.
Will my heart continue with its normal rhythm once my anxiety has subsided?
In most cases, yes. Once the anxiety has subsided, the heart’s normal rhythm should resume. The levels of adrenaline that are elevated because of anxiety should go down once the anxiety has subsided.
Can anxiety and stress cause arrhythmias?
Yes, anxiety and stress can cause arrhythmias. In fact, it has been found that high levels of stress can increase the possibility of arrhythmias occurring in people with heart problems.
Key Takeaways
Yes, anxiety may cause irregular heartbeats through the body’s natural stress response and the release of hormones such as adrenaline.
Heart symptoms caused by anxiety may include palpitations, rapid heartbeats, and missed beats, especially when in a state of anxiety or stress.
These heart symptoms may improve with relaxation techniques and anxiety management.
New, severe, or persistent heart symptoms should be checked by a health professional because they may be a symptom of a heart condition.
Anxiety management techniques may help alleviate irregular heartbeats in the long run.
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