Heart palpitations can be incredibly scary. You may wonder if they’re just harmless skipped heartbeats or if this is the big one, and for a good reason. The sensation of missed heartbeats can be alarming and leave you doubting the health of your heart.
In most cases, palpitations are pretty harmless, but sometimes they’re not. For that reason, if you frequently experience palpitations, have long periods of missed beats, or feel like your heart is racing, get it checked out by your doctor. Also, get it looked at by your doc if you’re feeling dizzy or light-headed during an episode of palpitations.
A Chinese View on Palpitations
In Chinese medicine, palpitations point to the heart organ system. Just like in Western medicine, your heart acts like a pump that moves your blood throughout your body. However, in Chinese medicine, your Heart is also home to something called the Shen, which is similar to your spirit. 
Your memories, emotions, thinking, and consciousness are also a part of your Shen. If this sounds far-fetched, think of all the terms relating to your emotions and the heart. You can have a broken heart, thank someone from the bottom of your heart, or feel something pulling on your heart strings—all ways of acknowledging that Heart is in fact an organ that touches your deepest feelings.
Because your heart is considered an organ of emotions and spirituality, it is very sensitive to emotional upsets and stress, and can easily be unbalanced when things go wrong. Other heart symptoms in Chinese medicine, such as anxiety, insomnia, mental restlessness, and disturbing dreams all point to this. In Chinese medicine, there are a number of patterns of imbalance that may affect your heart, but in most cases, they occur in conjunction with palpitations.
At Home Help for Heart Palpitations
Beyond dealing with stress and becoming resilient to emotional upsets, several physical factors can contribute to your heart skipping beats. Here are some things to know:
-Caffeine can speed up your heart and cause skipped beats. If you’re having palpitations, avoid coffee, tea, energy drinks, and even chocolate until things calm down.
-Alcohol may have an effect similar to caffeine in some people who are sensitive. Again, if you’re skipping heartbeats, avoid the cocktails.
-A number of prescription and over-the-counter medications can cause palpitations. One of the worst offenders are decongestants, however, asthma inhalers, some antidepressants, Tagamet, and ironically some drugs that treat irregular heartbeats also can cause your heart to skip beats.
-While most people understand that smoking isn’t good for your cardiovascular system, most aren’t aware that it can be an underlying cause of heart arrhythmias. If you’re a smoker and having palpitations, quitting would be—and always is—a good idea. I know this is easier said than done, but if you’re looking to quit, acupuncture can help in the process.
-While there may not be a quick fix, it’s important to know that blood loss can also cause palpitations. Having surgery, heavy menstrual periods, or recent labor and delivery all have the ability to cause your heart to skip beats.
–Physical activity is a great way to keep your heart healthy. However, if you’re prone to palpitations and jump right into a strenuous workout, you may unwittingly be triggering irregular heartbeats. Ease into your workout and cool off for a few minutes afterwards.
-Overeating may also be a culprit when it comes to palpitations. If you’re prone to irregular heartbeats, avoid eating very large meals because the stress on your body of eating and digesting that much food can be enough to set off an episode of palpitations.
The bottom line is that heart palpitations can be frightening and make you worry about your health. In most cases, your skipped heartbeats can be controlled by lifestyle factors and diet. However, if you have questions about what you’re experiencing, it’s a good idea to get it checked out by your doctor. It’s likely that your palpitations are not the sign of a serious condition, and you’ll have peace of mind.
