Menopause affects every woman differently and can happen naturally or be induced by surgery, illness, or medications. It disrupts hormone levels, which can cause symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, and more.
You may also experience heart palpitations during the different stages of menopause. This article discusses menopause-related heart palpitations, how to manage them, and when to see a healthcare provider.
What Are Heart Palpitations?
Heart palpitations feel like your heart is racing, pounding, skipping beats, flipping, or fluttering. This happens when you feel your heart rate speeding up, slowing down, or beating irregularly. The sensation can be in your neck, chest, or both.
Heart palpitations may occur with a hot flash and can make you feel anxious. This anxiety may also create a “vicious cycle” of stress and worry, which can cause your heart to beat even faster.
You may experience heart palpitations after eating, particularly after eating foods high in carbs or sugar. If these continue after eating certain foods, you may want to work with your healthcare professional to decide what foods to limit.
Are Heart Palpitations A Symptom of Menopause?
Heart palpitations are a common symptom of menopause for a variety of reasons. Changing hormone levels caused by menopause have a connection to how your heart works, which can lead to heart palpitations. This can affect women in all stages of menopause (from the mid-40s to early 60s on average).
In addition to hormonal changes some of the other menopause-related causes of heart palpitations may include:
Stress caused by sudden changes in mood and other mental health challenges. Intense sugar cravings and consumption often experienced during the transition. Overexertion through intense exercise and physical fitness efforts.
Hormone Level Changes
Heart palpitations may occur during menopause due to dropping levels of estrogen. Some women also experience them during pregnancy or their menstrual period as estrogen levels fluctuate.
The endocrine system, which produces hormones, plays a vital role in the heart. It helps regulate the heart rate and the amount of blood it pumps. An imbalance in the endocrine system can lead to heart palpitations.
Stress and Mood Changes
Changes in mood and the stress they can create are often linked to different types of cardiac arrhythmia. Fluctuating levels in estrogen and progesterone often lead to mood swings that prompt this stress, which can potentially lead to heart palpitations.
Intense Sugar Cravings
Menopause-related hormone fluctuations can also lead to intense cravings for refined sugar and carbohydrates. This is specifically unbalanced levels of estrogen and serotonin. Stress-related changes caused by adrenal imbalances can lead to especially intense cravings. When these cravings are acted upon they trigger heart fluttering and palpitations, especially while eating.
Exercise Tolerance
Whether caused by adrenaline surges or overexertion, it’s not uncommon for heart palpitations to intersect with menopause and fitness routine. As you move through your menopause journey, you may need to adjust your routine to a lower-impact workout to help prevent heart palpitations.
Treatments and Management of Heart Palpitations
You can manage your menopause-related heart palpitations through a variety of clinical and lifestyle methods, including:
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT): Since heart palpitations are commonly related to hormone loss, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may help reduce them and have other heart-health benefits, as well. HRT may include the integration of certain hormone supplement medications, such as:
Yuvfem® (Estradiol) Premarin® (Conjugated Estrogens)Ogen® (Estropipate)
Some women shouldn’t take HRT, including those with some cancers. Your healthcare provider can help give you guidance on whether it’s the right treatment for you.
Lifestyle changes: Changes in diet, fitness, and stress reduction may also help reduce the risk of heart palpitations, including:
Reducing sugar and carbohydrates. Lower-impact exercise (walking or jogging as opposed to running, light strength training, etc. )Reducing caffeine and nicotine consumptionRelaxation techniques (meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, massage, etc. )Prioritizing sleep
When to See Your Healthcare Provider
Palpitations lasting a few seconds may be harmless. However, it’s best to see your healthcare provider so they can rule out a more serious condition. This is especially true if you have the following symptoms:
Changes in periodsHot flashesNight sweatsVaginal dryness Dry skin ForgetfulnessMood swingsLow sex driveTrouble sleeping Urinary incontinence (leakage)Headaches
Palpitations that worsen or happen more oftenPalpitations lasting longer than a few minutesPalpitations accompanied by weaknessIncreased heart rate
Also see your healthcare provider if you have risk factors such as high blood pressure.
Summary
Menopause can cause or contribute to heart palpitations through a variety of internal and lifestyle-related causes. As you progress through your menopause journey, you can work with your healthcare provider to help balance your hormone levels to reduce heart palpitations and also find ways to manage and treat them as they arise.
Dizziness Fainting (losing consciousness) Breathing problems Chest or jaw pain Very rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
A Word From Verywell
Symptoms of menopause vary for every woman and can change as you move through the transition. Don’t be shy about talking with your healthcare provider if symptoms affect your activities of daily living or you feel worried.
Infrequent heart palpitations lasting a few seconds may not be a cause for concern. However, it’s important to see your healthcare provider so they can rule out possible underlying health concerns.
It’s helpful to write down information when you are experiencing heart palpitations. Your healthcare provider will most likely ask you when they started, how long they last, what you were doing, and if anything helps them go away.
Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG): During an EKG, electrodes are placed on your chest to look at the rhythm and electrical activity. Holter monitor: This is a portable machine you wear for a few days to monitor and record your heart rhythm. Echocardiogram: An echocardiogram is a non-invasive ultrasound test that provides a view of the heart as it works. Stress test: A stress test looks at your heart under exertion, either while exercising or receiving a special intravenous (IV) medication. Event monitor: This is a portable monitor you wear for a month. You can hit the record button when feeling heart palpitations or other symptoms.
Caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, or stimulants (such as diet pills)Arrhythmias Thyroid problemsLow blood pressureStressOverexertion (e. g. , over-exercising)MedicationsHeart disease
