Reducing stress and anxiety can help lessen the frequency or intensity of your heart palpitations. Breathing exercises and deep relaxation can help to curb a racing heart. Practicing yoga or tai chi can also reduce the frequency of your palpitations. Another way to get your heart to beating normally is called cough CPR. This is accomplished by taking 2-3 deep cleansing breaths followed by a deep cough. Most times, helps in getting your heart back to a normal beat.

Keep a record of how often you have palpitations, when they happen, how long they last, your heart rate at the time of the palpitations, and what you are feeling at the time. This information may help yourdoctor figure out both their seriousness and their underlying cause.

If you have chest pain, shortness of breath, or other concerning symptoms, and are in the emergency room, your cardiac rhythm will be monitored. An emergency intervention will be performed if necessary to restore normal cardiac rhythm.

Prevention:

Whether or not it is related to stress, do your best to reduce the stress in your life. When stressed, a chemical called adrenalin is produced by the body. Adrenalin is appropriate in the “fight or flight” response, but a constant barrage of adrenalin can cause great strain on the body resulting in a rise blood pressure. To prevent palpitations follow these simple rules:

• Quit smoking.
• Eat a well-balanced, low-fat diet.
• Exercise regularly.
• Try stress management techniques such as yoga, tai chi, or meditation.
• Make sure that your blood pressure and cholesterol are under control.

Treatment:

Treatment depends mainly on what is causing the palpitations. Caffeine is a well known culprit of irregular heart beats. In this case, ingesting non-decaffeinated drinks will reduce heart palpitations. In premenopausal women, too little magnesium in the body can produce an irregular heart beat. A supplement of equal dosages of magnesium and calcium may be helpful in eliminating palpitations. For severe cases, medication is often prescribed, such as Atenolol, a beta blocker. Beta blockers block the affects of adrenaline on the body. If beta blockers are not appropriate, other antiarrhythmics can be prescribed.

If you have chest pain, shortness of breath, or other alarming symptoms, and are in the emergency room, your cardiac rhythm will be monitored. If necessary, cardioversion, an electrical shock performed under light anesthesia, can be performed to restore normal cardiac rhythm.

Ultimately, if palpitations result in loss of consciousness, this is a serious implication. Consult your physician immediately to arrange for proper testing and diagnosis.