Your heart suddenly starts racing. It feels like it’s pounding out of your chest, skipping beats, or doing flip-flops. You place your hand over your heart, trying to calm down, but the racing only gets worse.
You wonder: Is this a heart attack? Am I dying?
If you’ve experienced this, you’re not alone. Heart palpitations are one of the most common, and most frightening symptoms of anxiety.
What Are Heart Palpitations?
Heart palpitations are sensations where you become acutely aware of your heartbeat. Your heart may feel like it’s racing, pounding forcefully, fluttering, skipping beats, or beating in your throat or neck.
These sensations can last just a few seconds or continue for several minutes. For most people, heart palpitations are harmless and temporary, but they can feel absolutely terrifying in the moment.
The Connection Between Anxiety and Racing Heart
When you experience anxiety, your body activates its fight-or-flight response, an ancient survival mechanism designed to protect you from danger.
During anxiety, your brain perceives a threat and releases stress hormones, primarily adrenaline and cortisol. These powerful chemicals create rapid changes:
- Adrenaline increases your heart rate to pump more blood to your muscles
- Blood pressure rises, which you feel as pounding heartbeats
- You become hyperaware of bodily sensations, noticing your heartbeat more intensely
The heart rate for anxiety typically ranges from 100 to 130 beats per minute or higher. This elevated rate is your body’s natural response to perceived danger, even when there’s no actual physical threat.
Can Stress and Anxiety Cause Heart Palpitations?
Absolutely. Stress and heart palpitations are intimately connected. When you’re under chronic stress or experiencing acute anxiety, your body remains in a heightened state of alertness, leading to frequent episodes of rapid heartbeat and increased awareness of normal heart rhythms.
The relationship works both ways, anxiety triggers heart palpitations, and experiencing palpitations can trigger more anxiety, creating a feedback loop that intensifies both symptoms.
If you’re unsure whether this is anxiety or panic, read our panic attack vs anxiety attack guide.
Understanding the Vagus Nerve and Heart Flutter
The vagus nerve plays a crucial role in heart palpitations, particularly the vagus nerve heart flutter sensation many people experience.
What Is the Vagus Nerve?
The vagus nerve runs from your brainstem through your neck and chest to your abdomen. It’s a major component of your parasympathetic nervous system that helps slow your heart rate after stressful events.
How It Affects Your Heart
The vagus nerve heart flutter occurs when this nerve becomes overstimulated. Several situations can trigger it:
- Lying on your left side can stimulate the nerve, causing sudden flutter
- After eating large meals, digestive processes can activate it
- During anxiety or stress, elevated hormones interfere with normal nerve function
- Certain physical actions like coughing or bending over
Understanding that vagus nerve heart flutter is a normal physiological response can reduce the fear these sensations create.
Does Anxiety Cause High Heart Rate?
Yes, anxiety absolutely causes an elevated heart rate. When anxiety strikes, your sympathetic nervous system releases adrenaline that makes your heart beat faster and harder.
A normal resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. During anxiety, your heart rate can easily exceed 100 beats per minute.
The key difference between anxiety-related rapid heartbeat and dangerous heart conditions is that anxiety-induced palpitations usually occur in response to stress, come with other anxiety symptoms, and return to normal once you calm down.
How to Stop Heart Palpitations: Immediate Techniques
When heart palpitations strike, these proven palpitation remedies can help you regain control:
1. Deep Breathing (4-7-8 Technique)
- Breathe in through your nose for 4 counts
- Hold your breath for 7 counts
- Exhale slowly through your mouth for 8 counts
- Repeat 3-4 times
This breathing pattern slows your heart rate and interrupts the anxiety cycle.
2. Cold Water Immersion (Diving Reflex)
- Splash cold water on your face
- Or place an ice pack on your forehead for 10-30 seconds
This triggers your vagus nerve to slow your heart rate immediately, one of the fastest ways to relieve palpitations.
3. The Valsalva Maneuver
- Take a deep breath
- Close your mouth and pinch your nose shut
- Bear down as if having a bowel movement for 10-15 seconds
- Release and breathe normally
This palpitation remedy stimulates your vagus nerve to quickly restore normal heart rhythm.
4. Change Your Position
If you’re lying down when palpitations start, sit up or stand. If you’re on your left side, roll to your right side. Sometimes simply changing position can relieve vagus nerve-induced palpitations.
5. Focus Your Mind Elsewhere
Anxiety about palpitations makes them worse. Try counting backwards from 100 by sevens, or name five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear. Redirecting attention helps break the anxiety feedback loop. For more daily calming tools, read our reduce your anxiety guide.
Long-Term Strategies: How to Relieve Palpitations
Beyond immediate techniques, these strategies help reduce the frequency and intensity of heart palpitations:
Reduce Stimulant Intake
Caffeine, nicotine, and certain medications can trigger or worsen palpitations. Consider limiting coffee, avoiding energy drinks, and reviewing medications with your doctor.
Stay Hydrated and Balanced
Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances can cause heart palpitations. Drink adequate water and get enough potassium and magnesium from your diet.
Manage Your Stress
Practice daily meditation, engage in regular yoga, journal your thoughts, and set boundaries to reduce overwhelming obligations.
Exercise Regularly
Regular cardiovascular exercise strengthens your heart and reduces baseline anxiety. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity most days.
Improve Sleep Quality
Maintain a consistent sleep schedule, create a relaxing bedtime routine, avoid screens before bed, and keep your bedroom cool and dark.
Consider Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is highly effective for anxiety-related palpitations. A therapist can help you identify anxious thoughts, develop coping strategies, and break the cycle of fear and palpitations. You can explore options in our guide to the best therapies for every type of anxiety.
How to Stop Heart Palpitations at Night
Nighttime palpitations can be particularly distressing. Here’s what helps:
- Avoid eating late, finish meals at least 3 hours before bed
- Sleep on your right side or back instead of your left side
- Elevate your head slightly
- Practice a calming bedtime routine
- Avoid checking your pulse obsessively
What Helps Palpitations: Additional Remedies
- Magnesium supplementation (talk to your doctor first)
- Avoid alcohol, which can trigger palpitations
- Track your triggers in a journal to identify patterns
- Stay cool—overheating can increase heart rate
- Practice progressive muscle relaxation
When to Seek Medical Help
Seek immediate medical attention if you experience:
- Chest pain or pressure
- Severe shortness of breath
- Fainting or loss of consciousness
- Extreme dizziness
- Palpitations lasting more than a few minutes
Also consult your doctor if palpitations are new, becoming more frequent, or if you have a family history of heart disease.
Taking Back Control
Heart palpitations from anxiety feel frightening, but they’re not dangerous. Your racing heart is your body’s misguided attempt to protect you from a threat that doesn’t exist.
The more you understand about why palpitations happen and how to manage them, the less power they have over you. Each time you successfully use a calming technique, you’re retraining your nervous system.
Remember: You’re not dying. You’re experiencing anxiety. And anxiety, while uncomfortable, cannot harm you.
Struggling with frequent heart palpitations or anxiety that’s impacting your quality of life? Our experienced therapists at Healing Springs Wellness specialize in anxiety treatment and can help you develop personalized strategies to manage both the physical and emotional symptoms. Schedule your consultation today and start your journey toward calm and confidence.
FAQ: Common Questions About Anxiety and Heart Palpitations
How to stop palpitations caused by anxiety?
Use immediate calming techniques: deep breathing (4-7-8 method), cold water on your face, the Valsalva maneuver, or changing position. Long-term, manage anxiety through therapy, stress reduction, limiting caffeine, regular exercise, and proper sleep.
Can stress and anxiety cause heart palpitations?
Yes, stress and anxiety are among the most common causes of heart palpitations. When anxious, your body releases adrenaline and cortisol, which increase heart rate and make you hyperaware of your heartbeat.
How to stop heart palpitations at night?
Avoid late meals, sleep on your right side or back instead of your left side, elevate your head slightly, establish a calming bedtime routine, and avoid checking your pulse.
Does anxiety cause high heart rate?
Yes, anxiety triggers your fight-or-flight response, releasing adrenaline that increases heart rate. Your heart can easily exceed 100 beats per minute during anxiety, but returns to baseline once you calm down.
What helps palpitations?
Deep breathing, vagal maneuvers (cold water, Valsalva), reducing caffeine, staying hydrated, managing stress, regular exercise, adequate sleep, and addressing underlying anxiety through therapy all help reduce palpitations.
How to cure heart palpitations at home?
Establish daily relaxation practices, create lifestyle stability with regular sleep and meals, manage stress, limit stimulants, stay hydrated, and work on underlying anxiety through therapy or self-help techniques. Consistency is key.
What are heart palpitations a symptom of?
Most commonly, palpitations indicate anxiety, stress, excessive caffeine, dehydration, lack of sleep, or hormonal changes. Less commonly, they may signal thyroid problems, anemia, or heart rhythm disorders. Get medical evaluation if palpitations are new or frequent.
How long can heart palpitations last?
Anxiety-related palpitations typically last seconds to a few minutes. Panic attack palpitations may last 5-20 minutes. If palpitations last hours or occur constantly, seek medical evaluation.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with our qualified healthcare provider if you’re experiencing heart palpitations or other concerning symptoms.
