- Occasional rapid heart rate symptoms Download Here Free HealthCareMagic App to Ask a Doctor All the information, content and live chat provided on the site is intended to be for informational purposes only, and not a substitute for professional or medical advice.
- Supraventricular tachycardia, which causes episodes marked by an abnormally fast but regular heart rate. It tends to affect otherwise healthy people. Ventricular tachycardia, a potentially serious.
- Myth: A normal heart rate is 60-100 beats per minute. That's the old standard. Many doctors think it.
Is your heart racing at night? Does it wake you up from sleep or keep you from falling asleep? If your heart is pounding almost every night, you may need to see a doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment. But if it happens only occasionally, then it may not be a serious problem. However, you may want to learn what causes fast heartbeat at night, read on to find your answer and possible effective remedies for you.
What Can Cause Heart Racing at Night?
Causes Of Rapid Heartbeat
A rapid or fast heartbeat is when your heart is beating faster than normal. A normal heart rate is 60 to 100 beats per minute. Tachycardia is considered a heart rate of greater than 100 beats per minute. If you are exercising, or performing any kind of activity, your heart will normally beat faster. Lifestyle triggers. Common triggers of heart palpitations include: strenuous exercise.
1. Nightmares or Night Terrors
If you suddenly wake up with yourheart racing, you may have been experiencing nightmares. This symptom may be accompanied by fast breathing and sweating on the forehead. People who have night terrors usually remain asleep throughout their experience and do not remember their dreams, but they may experience rapid heartbeats. Although nightmares or night terrors are harmless, they can disrupt sleep or lead to some injury if they occur often.
2. Emotional Triggers
Heart racing at night can also be due to emotional triggers. Rapid heart rates are often triggered by emotional factors such as anxiety, stress or excitement, all of which increase the amount of adrenaline (a hormone) produced by the body.
3. Hormonal Changes in Period, Pregnancy and Menopause
Hormonal and other bodily changes during menstrual periods, pregnancy and menopause can cause your heart to beat faster. Fortunately, if you are otherwise healthy, these changes are temporary and will not cause serious problems.
4. Certain Medications or Substance
You may be taking certain medications that cause heart racing at night. Palpitation is a common side effect of many medications. Drugs medications used to treat high blood pressure and asthma, for example, often cause your heart to beat rapidly. Besides, the consumption of spicy foods, caffeine, nicotine alcohol and recreational drugs can also make your heart beat faster. Such an effect may be more obvious at night when your body rests.
5. Low Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the force that the blood exerts against the walls of your arteries. For healthy adults, blood pressure is lowest when the body is at rest, usually at night. In the morning, as you get out of bed, your blood pressure slowly rises and tends to be the highest in the afternoon.
However, a few people have very low blood pressure at night, so the body needs to increase heart rate to maintain good circulation of blood. In severe cases, your heart may beat too fastso it gives you a feeling of heart racing at night.
6. Low Blood Sugar Level
Having a low blood sugar level (hypoglycemia) can cause your heart to beat faster, and you may experience other symptoms like dizziness, confusion, and shakiness. This can be a dangerous situation, particularly if you have diabetes. Your body depends on sugar for energy to be able to function. When your sugar level becomes too low, your body cannot function well, so your heart beats rapidly to overcome the problem. This can happen when you skip meals, exercise too hard or receive too much insulin.
7. Heart Disease
Heart racing at night may be a symptom of heart disease, which may be associated with coronary artery disease, a previous heart attack, or other problems in the heart valves or heart muscle. Click HERE to learn warning signs of heart problems.
8. Other Health Conditions
You may have a medical condition that causes your heart to beat faster. Rapid heartbeats may be caused by a number of medical problems that need further evaluation and treatment such as:
- Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid)
- Diabetes
- Anemia
- High fever (body temperature of 38°C/100.4°F or higher)
- Dehydration
Sudden Rapid Heart Rate In Child
When to Seek Medical Help
If you experienceheart racing at night that lasts only a few seconds, you may not need medical evaluation. However, if you have frequent palpitations or a medical problem that may cause your palpitations to worsen, call your doctor. You may need further tests like heart-monitoring tests to see what is causing your problem.
Seek emergency care if you also experience:
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Fainting
- Severe dizziness
- Sudden shortness of breath
How to Deal with Heart Racing at Night
Occasional Rapid Heart Rate Symptoms
Treatment options of heart racing at night depend on the underlying cause. In most cases, it is harmless and may go away without treatment. Your doctor may suggest you to avoid certain triggers and modify your lifestyle such as:
1. Medications
Treatments for palpitation include antiarrhythmic drugs, such as beta blockers or calcium channel blockers. If these medications do not effectively reduce your palpitations, stronger drugs that act directly on the heart may be necessary. Remember to follow the medical professional's advice on when taking medication.
2. Catheter Ablation
This procedure involves small wires being threaded from your leg veins into your heart to trigger arrhythmia, in order to identify and treat the problem areas. This is highly effective when the specific region causing the heart problem is identified, such as an SVT or supraventricular tachycardia.
3. Home Remedies
If you do not have any medical problem that needs specific treatment, certain remedies may be sufficient to relieve heart racing at night.Here are some effective home remedies:
- Taking grape juice several times a day can help with palpitation.
- Ripe guava may be eaten on an empty stomach; also good for anemia and nervousness.
- Powdered anise seeds combined with dry coriander.
- Honey can be taken with a glass of water and lemon juice, before going to bed.
4. Avoid Triggers
Avoid foods and beverages or substances that cause palpitations like nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and drugs. Avoid certain medications that stimulate the heart, such as medicines for cough and colds, and some herbal or nutritional supplements.
5. Manage Your Emotions
Managing stress and avoiding strong emotions. Stress-reducing techniques include yoga, biofeedback, tai chi, guided imagery, aromatherapy and otherrelaxation exercises.
6. Comfort and Reassurance
Sometimes, your symptoms are not related to a serious condition. With some reassurance from a medical professional, you may overcome your symptoms without specific medical treatment.
7. Preventive Tips
If your doctor says that no treatment is necessary, you can try to avoid getting palpitations by doing these tips:
- Keep a daily journal of activities, foods and beverages, and other things that may trigger your palpitations so you can avoid them. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Don't smoke.
- Eat a healthy diet to keep your blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure under control.
- Exercise regularly. Try some relaxation exercises, like deep breathing or yoga to reduce stress.
- Ask your doctor about switching medications if you think they are causing palpitations.
What is an arrhythmia?
An arrhythmia (also called dysrhythmia) is an irregular or abnormal heartbeat.
What is my pulse?
Your pulse indicates your heart rate, or the number of times your heart beats in one minute. Pulse rates vary from person to person. Your pulse is slower when you are at rest and increases when you exercise, since more oxygen- rich blood is needed by the body during exercise.
How do I take my pulse?
You can tell how fast your heart is beating by feeling your pulse. You can feel your pulse on your wrist or neck. Place the tips of your index and middle fingers on the inner wrist of your other arm, just below the base of your thumb. Or, place the tips of your index and middle fingers on your lower neck, on either side of your windpipe. Press lightly with your fingers until you feel the blood pulsing beneath your fingers. You may need to move your fingers around slightly up or down until you feel the pulsing.
You can count the number of beats in 10 seconds and multiply by 6 to determine your heart rate in beats per minute. A normal heart rate, at rest, is 50 to 100 beats per minute.
Your Heart Rate: Pulse in 10 seconds x 6 =_
Heart Rhythms on ECG
The heart’s electrical system triggers the heartbeat. Each beat of the heart is represented on the electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) by a wave arm.
The normal heart rhythm (normal sinus rhythm) shows the electrical activity in the heart is following the normal pathway. The rhythm is regular and the node is normal (about 50 to 100 beats per minute).
Tachycardia: fast heart rhythm (greater than 100 beats per minute)
Bradycardia: slow heart rhythm (less than 60 beats per minute)
The Heart’s Electrical System
The atria (the heart’s upper chambers) and ventricles (the heart’s lower chambers) work together, alternately contracting and relaxing to pump blood through the heart. The electrical system of the heart is the power source that makes this possible. Here’s what happens during a normal heartbeat:
Irregular heart rhythms can also occur in normal, healthy hearts. Arrhythmias can also be caused by certain substances or medications, such as caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, inhaled aerosols, diet pills, and cough and cold remedies. Emotional states such as shock, fright or stress can also cause irregular heart rhythms.
Arrhythmias that are recurrent or related to an underlying heart condition are more concerning and should always be evaluated by a doctor.
In most cases, treating the underlying condition will take care of the arrhythmia. If not, many medications and procedures are available to eliminate or control the abnormal heart rhythm.
What are the types of arrhythmias?
- Tachycardia: A fast heart rhythm with a rate of more than 100 beats per minute.
- Bradycardia: A slow heart rhythm with a rate below 60 beats per minute.
- Supraventricular arrhythmias: Arrhythmias that begin in the atria (the heart’s upper chambers). “Supra” means above; “ventricular” refers to the lower chambers of the heart, or ventricles.
- Ventricular arrhythmias: Arrhythmias that begin in the ventricles (the heart’s lower chambers).
- Bradyarrhythmias: Slow heart rhythms that may be caused by disease in the heart’s conduction system, such as the sinoatrial (SA) node, atrioventricular (AV) node or HIS-Purkinje network.
Types of Supraventricular Arrhythmias
Supraventricular arrhythmias begin in the atria
Types of supraventricular arrhythmias include:
Premature atrial contractions (PACs)
Early, extra heartbeats that originate in the atria.
Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT)
A rapid but regular heart rhythm that comes from the atria. This type of arrhythmia begins and ends suddenly.
Accessory pathway tachycardias (bypass tract tachycardias)
A fast heart rhythm caused by an extra, abnormal electrical pathway or connection between the atria and ventricles. The impulses travel through the extra pathways as well as the usual route. This allows the impulses to travel around the heart very quickly, causing the heart to beat unusually fast (example: Wolff- Parkinson-White syndrome).
AV nodal re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT)
A fast heart rhythm caused by the presence of more than one pathway through the atrioventricular (AV) node.
Atrial tachycardia
A rapid heart rhythm that originates in the atria.
Atrial fibrillation
A very common irregular heart rhythm. Many impulses begin and spread through the atria, competing for a chance to travel through the AV node. The resulting rhythm is disorganized, rapid and irregular. Because the impulses are traveling through the atria in a disorderly fashion, there is a loss of coordinated atrial contraction.
- Learn more about atrial fibrillation.
Atrial flutter
An atrial arrhythmia caused by one or more rapid circuits in the atrium. Atrial flutter is usually more organized and regular than atrial fibrillation.
Types of Ventricular Arrhythmias
A ventricular arrhythmia begins in the heart’s ventricles.
Types of ventricular arrhythmias include:
Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs)
Early, extra heartbeats that originate in the ventricles. Most of the time, PVCs don’t cause any symptoms or require treatment. This type of arrhythmia is common and can be related to stress, too much caffeine or nicotine, or exercise. They can be also be caused by heart disease or electrolyte imbalance. People who have several PVCs and/or symptoms associated with them should be evaluated by a cardiologist (heart doctor).
- Learn more about premature ventricular contractions.
Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach)
A rapid heartbeat that originates in the ventricles. The rapid rhythm keeps the heart from adequately filling with blood, and less blood is able to pump through the body. V-tach can be serious, especially in people with heart disease, and may be associated with more symptoms than other types of arrhythmia. A cardiologist should evaluate this condition.
Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib)
An erratic, disorganized firing of impulses from the ventricles. The ventricles quiver and cannot generate an effective contraction, which results in a lack of blood being delivered to the body. This is a medical emergency that must be treated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation (delivery of an energy shock to the heart muscle to restore a normal rhythm) as soon as possible.
- Learn more about sudden cardiac death.
Long QT
The QT interval is the area on the ECG that represents the time it takes for the heart muscle to contract and then recover, or for the electrical impulse to fire and then recharge. When the QT interval is longer than normal, it increases the risk for “torsade de pointes,” a life-threatening form of ventricular tachycardia.
Types of Bradyarrhythmias
A bradyarrhythmia is a slow heart rhythm that is usually caused by disease in the heart’s conduction system. Types of bradyarrhythmias include:
Sinus node dysfunction
Slow heart rhythms due to an abnormal SA node.
Heart block
A delay or complete block of the electrical impulse as it travels from the sinus node to the ventricles. The level of the block or delay may occur in the AV node or HIS-Purkinje system. The heartbeat may be irregular and slow.
What are the symptoms of an arrhythmia?
An arrhythmia may be “silent” and not cause any symptoms. A doctor can detect an irregular heartbeat during an examination by taking your pulse, listening to your heart or by performing diagnostic tests. If symptoms occur, they may include:
- Palpitations: A feeling of skipped heartbeats, fluttering, 'flip-flops' or feeling that the heart is 'running away'
- Pounding in the chest
- Dizziness or feeling lightheaded
- Shortness of breath
- Chest discomfort
- Weakness or fatigue (feeling very tired)
What causes arrhythmias?
Arrhythmias can be caused by:
- Coronary artery disease
- High blood pressure
- Changes in the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy)
- Valve disorders
- Electrolyte imbalances in the blood, such as sodium or potassium
- Injury from a heart attack
- The healing process after heart surgery
- Other medical conditions