A lot of women experience heart palpitations when they have reached menopause. Waking up in the middle of the night, experiencing strange palpitations is normal for menopausal women. Perimenopause is one of the most trying times in a woman’s life both physically and emotionally. This stage, which arrives just before menopause, causes women to experience strange symptoms which may be mild or severe. Hot flashes at night, usually accompanied by palpitations, are experienced by almost all women who experience menopause.
Heart palpitations after eating a heavy and rich meal differ from heart palpitations experienced by a woman in perimenopause. Palpitations are often also known as cardiac arrhythmias. Heart palpitations in menopause will usually last a couple of months, after which they tend to disappear as suddenly as they appear. The symptoms of heart palpitations include changing of the rhythm of the heartbeat or skipping of a few heartbeats altogether. The heart rate may also increase.
The causes of heart palpitations in women during perimenopause are usually hormonal. As the woman moves into menopause, the secretion of hormones is disturbed and the body may experience a drastic change internally.
The constantly changing levels of hormones during the period, especially the changes experienced in the levels of progesterone and estrogen, can wreak havoc in the body. The heart may begin to pound very furiously, and there is a lot of sweating as well. For women who are undergoing hormone replacement therapy, the heart palpitations may occur only for a few days right at the beginning of the treatment.
As the hormones tend to settle down, the symptoms will also begin to subside. These symptoms are usually only associated with the onset of menopause, and though they may seem a little frightening at first, they are usually not. Most women would still discuss their symptoms with doctors at this time because of the oddity and the potential severity of the symptoms.
There is no medicinal cure for heart palpitations in women. Most women would go back to their normal health conditions as soon as the hormones in the body normalize. However, if these do not subside, it is possible that your heart palpitations were not caused by menopause in the first place.
Ingestion of a lot of stimulants such as nicotine, tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine, may often cause heart palpitations as well. If you have been using diet pills, those too could be causing your palpitations. There are also cases where the causes of heart palpitations in women around the age of menopause are more serious in nature. Sugar acts as a stimulant and may increase the rate of heartbeat. That is why a person may experience heart palpitations after eating chocolate or after consuming sugar. However recurring heart palpitations between the ages of 35 and 55 may be associated with other more serious heart conditions.
The first step is to avoid smoking and drinking alcohol. Also, reduce the amount of caffeine intake during a single day. If you are on any kind of pills, avoid them during this period. Monitor your own condition and see if your heart rate goes back to normal soon. If it does not, schedule a consultation with your doctor and find out what the problem is. Try not to worry too much as stress will only worsen your overall problem.