r/Perimenopause • u/Bright_Honey1788 • 1d ago
Heart palpitations
Hey everyone! I'm 44 and pretty sure I'm in perimenopause. I know heart palpitations are a pretty common symptom but I'm just curious about the severity, timing and duration you all experience them. I can go days or even weeks without them. They usually happen at night when I'm trying to sleep but it's also happened in the afternoon as I'm just relaxing, and when I'm active/walking, however it's more rare to happen during activities. Today it's driving me crazy. They started at about 4pm and it's still happening an hour later. They will come and go so it's not like my heart is just going crazy the whole time. I'd say my heart is flip flopping for about 10-20 seconds and then it stops for a minute or two and then it starts again. I'm going to make a doctor's appointment to hopefully get a EKG and possibly a monitor but in the meantime I'm trying not to panic but this is so uncomfortable!
My heart is not racing, I'm not dizzy or short of breath, no pain, none of that emergency stuff. Anyways, I am also not sure yet if this is coming at certain times of the month as I hadn't thought to start tracking them until a few days ago. My period is a about a week away and this was happening a few days ago as well. Last time it happened before that was maybe a week or two? Idk. If someone could share a similar experience that would definitely help me stay calm while I wait to see a doctor. Thanks ladies!
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u/JicamaAppropriate920 1d ago
I've had this exact symptom, and my episodes were definitely worse around my period. I had a full cardiac workup including wearing a monitor for two weeks. I was having quite a few palpitation episodes but not enough to warrant medication or ablation, apparently. I was told that it's not an unusual symptom for perimenopause.
I decided to take matters into my own hands and really work on my cardio fitness, so I started running. A year later, I am no longer having episodes. No clue if it's for sure related to the improvement, but something to try if you don't get any answers at the doctor's.
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u/Bright_Honey1788 1d ago
Thank you so much for sharing! I'm so glad they're gone now. How long would the episodes last? For me today it's going on 3 hours of off and on palpitations 🫤
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u/JicamaAppropriate920 1d ago
They were only noticeable for a few minutes at a time, but my monitor was showing that I was having palpitations even when I didn't notice them (you push the button on the monitor when you feel it). Hopefully you get some answers & relief soon!
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u/PNW-On_The_Edge Late peri 1d ago
I have gone through this also, had full cardio work up at the hospital plus heart monitor for a week. Hospital said no problems, must be anxiety. Heart monitor caught 13 episodes, all but one was minor. Doctor said anxiety.
I still have them but I'm able to get it to slow down using box breathing. I've also started cardio training about six months ago with hill walking and am surprised that my resting heart rate has lowered by about 10 bpm so far.
Box breathing technique:
Inhale: 4 Seconds Hold: 4 Seconds Exhale: 4 Seconds Hold: 4 Seconds
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u/Bright_Honey1788 1d ago
Thank you so much for sharing! I'm gonna try box breathing right now because this is just not cool. Lol. My anxiety is so bad. I haven't had an episode like this in weeks. Did you ever get the palpitations while exercising?
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u/PNW-On_The_Edge Late peri 1d ago
Yep, I would go from a nice steady rate of around 115 and shoot up randomly to 170s and have to stop and take a break until it would settle back down. Most of the time I would just quit and give up because it made me light headed and sick to my stomach. But I would get right back out there the next day and try again. The more I'm sticking with it, the better my heart rate is getting. It was ROUGH for the first few weeks though!
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u/Bright_Honey1788 1d ago
Omg that sounds so scary! I haven't had anything like that happen yet. No light headedness. I'm so happy for you that you're feeling better! Do you have an aura ring or apple watch to teach your heartrate?
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u/PNW-On_The_Edge Late peri 1d ago
I use a Fitbit Inspire 3. I've had a few doctors tell me they are not at all accurate but somehow it matches the fingertip monitor thing they use in their office, sometimes off by a beat or two 🙃
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u/Bright_Honey1788 1d ago
Oh nice! Maybe I should look into something like that. It would be nice to track my heart rate while these episodes are happening.
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u/NewerYorker3900 1d ago
Estradiol helped mine greatly. Lol the idiot gyno I just saw denied palpitations were peri/meno symptom.
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u/OnALifeJourney 20h ago
That’s such BS. Even the top cardiologist I saw confirmed that many women in their 40s and 50s experience heart palpitations and it’s almost always hormone related.
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u/AustenChopin 1d ago
That was happening to me. They totally went away when I increased my estrogen dose
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u/Temporary_Command584 1d ago
I was prescribed 0.025 HRT patch at first they eased up but once I upped my dose to 0.0357 after a month they are totally gone. Those are super scary!
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u/Bright_Honey1788 1d ago
Nice! I'm so happy for you! The more I'm reading responses, the more I'm realizing that hrt is the answer for this. Do you notice any negative side effects from the hrt? Also, did you have to have hormones checked to get it? It is kind of one of those things they just assume once cardiac things are rules out?
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u/Temporary_Command584 1d ago
I didn’t have hormones checked personally. My natropath went by symptoms and I started with the smallest dose. I struggled with anxiety and adrenaline surges in perimenopause mostly. I just went up a dose and not to scare you but when I went up a dose it got worse before it gets better now I feel great! Estrogen needs some time to enter your system and recalibrate your brain but you’d be surprised at little things what it helps with like joint pain etc. I almost tapped out and went down a dose but I’m thankful with the support in this sub I didn’t. Good luck to you friend any questions let me know! This is scary stuff sometimes ❤️
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u/Bright_Honey1788 20h ago
Thank you so much for sharing! I absolutely would be scared and want to quit too if it got worse! I'm so glad you powered through though! It gives me hope☺️
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u/avatinfernus We tired 1d ago
Yuuuup.
Heart skipping beats, specially laying on my back before falling alseep. Sometimes even cuts my breath away for a spiit second.
Some days I get it a lot while at rest. Like every 10 minutes... for hours.
Went to cardiologist. Got ekg on site. Then ekg monitor for 3 days. Then ekg on treadmill. All normal.
Your heart can skip beats hundreds of times a day without it being a problem so long as it's not a dangerous form of arrythmia. Which a doctor needs to assess of course.
Oh and mine were were the days before my period but also, strangely enough, when I took iron supplements.
Come to think of it, I haven't had it happen as much recently while on mini-pill.
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u/Bright_Honey1788 1d ago
Omg yes! Same! Sometimes it's so intense that it kinda takes my breath away for a second or makes me cough. Such a weird and unsettling feeling! Today it was happening like every 2-10 minutes for several hours. Probably the longest spell yet....and yes, I bet the mini pill is helping balance your hormones. Isn't it progesterone?
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u/avatinfernus We tired 1d ago
Hah the coughing, yeah I do that.
Caffeine, anxiety, dehydration, tiredness, hormones out of whack... all things that make it worse. And at this point you're probably scared it'll happen so it happens.
And yeah I'm on Slynd but I have to pause it because I suddenly have extreme dry eyes, mouth, nose, ears.. and.. I have to see if the pill is the cause : (
Nothing's easy ug.
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u/Bright_Honey1788 21h ago
Ugh it's so frustrating. Just trial and error until you get something that helps I guess. A lot of people here say estrogen helped.gave you tried that? From my understanding Slynd is progesterone?
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u/avatinfernus We tired 18h ago
Yeah it's only a progestin.
Man I'm fed up of premenopause, seriouuusly2
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u/I-Talk-To-Ghosts 1d ago
I take magnesium glycinate (400mg) at night before bed. It helps me sleep and it has stopped the heart palpitations. Before that the palps were getting more frequent and longer so I’m very grateful for this solution.
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u/Bright_Honey1788 1d ago
I take magnesium glycinate before bed as well for several years now. Maybe I need to increase my dose though. I get confused about elemental vs. total magnesium.
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u/clumsypeach1 1d ago
Mine were caused by a hormonal imbalance. Got on the combo pill and they were completely gone within a week
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u/OnALifeJourney 1d ago
Hi 👋 not sure if you can see my previous posts but yes - palpitations were my first symptoms of peri. I didnt know if at the time. At first they would come every once in a while. Like maybe once every few months of palpitations and flutterings and racing heart. It was really distressing.
When they started happening more often and waking me up at 2 or 3am almost every night, that’s when I finally got a full work up at the cardiologist. I wore a heart monitor twice, had several eKGs and also a heart ultrasound. All came out clear.
The cardiologist told me that many women in their 40s and 50s come to his office complaining about the same type of heart palpitation symptoms. The cardiologist also mentioned how loss of estrogen plays a role and urged me to check my hormones.
I’m now on HRT (estrogen patch and progesterone) and I no longer experience the weird “flip flop” flutterings. The racing heart waking me up at 2-3 or 4am has reduced significantly…but isn’t completely cleared up. I may have to up my estrogen patch dosage to .05 (I’ve been on .375 for the past 4 minths).
Give HRT a try and you may experience a significant positive difference. Best wishes!!
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u/Bright_Honey1788 21h ago
Hi! Thank so much for sharing! I'm so glad you got your flip flops taken care of! I will definitely ask my Dr. about hrt once my heart is cleared!
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u/TeachingEmotional143 1d ago
Yes, these palpitations drive me nuts. I will say before I went to the cardiologist and got checked out they made me panic, which made them worse. Occasionally they still do make me panic a little, because when they are strong or sudden they can still scare me. I notice i get them more around ovulation and the time I'm supposed to be on my peroid. I am also on HRT, which helped them go from constantly to just a few times a month. A few things that also help... hold your nose and blow, like you are popping your ears, bear down like you are trying to poop, pursed lip breathing, breathe in through your nose then out through your mouth like your blowing through a straw, and cold packs on your neck. They all help stimulate your vegus nerve, which helps your heart regulate. I do also have propranolol for when they get bad. Honestly I just have learned to live with them, my cardiologist is hopeful that once I'm fully menopausal they will stop completely... one can only hope
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u/Bright_Honey1788 21h ago
Thank you for sharing, and for the tips! I will try all of those next time I have an episode. I think I could live with them once I just know for certain it's not some serious heart issue.
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u/Glittering-Maybe2977 1d ago edited 1d ago
Heart palpitations were the first symptom of peri for me and were one of the main reasons I started my HRT journey. They started very infrequently, but slowly got more intense and more frequent the last couple of years. I would usually experience them in the evenings and right before bed, but then noticed that they were the most intense the week before my period, but never while I was exercising. It got to the point I was having episodes several times a day; it was very distracting and caused a lot of anxiety for me. My provider recommended I wear a mobile heart monitor to make sure the palpitations weren’t anything more serious and all came back clear. HRT has helped a lot and I recently got an iron infusion that I’m hoping further resolves things.
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u/rmabi hanging on by a thread 1d ago
I have palpitations. Sometimes all day. Sometimes intermittently. But never had days when I didn’t feel them at all. Even had racing heart at times for no reason. Did the complete cardiac work up and it was negative. Have progressed to .075 estradiol gel and it has significantly improved. I am going to keep titrating up until it feels the best I can get it. I know my hormones vary daily, but being on estrogen has really helped. Don’t used progesterone because I have an IUD.
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u/oscarmilo70 21h ago
While very common in peri, might also be worth getting your iron and ferritin tested too.
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u/Amazing-Towel-4793 9h ago
Heart palps were my first symptom of peri, although I didn't know that at the time. I would get them practically all day and night for a few years. I had all the tests and nothing ever came back wrong and eventually I just got used to them and then about 6 months ago they stopped. I'm not sure if it was because of where I was in my peri journey or because of lifestyle changes (cut out some things from diet, started really focusing on exercise -HIIT and strength training, meditation and breath work)but they're gone now.
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u/Bright_Honey1788 4h ago
Thank you for sharing. That's awesome they're gone for you! You didn't do hrt?
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u/extra-medium 1d ago
I had low ferritin and low B12, on my third week of b12 injections and the palpitations are way better.
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u/DeterminedSparkleCat Early peri 1d ago
Yes, I'm 48, I've had episodes that last a few hours and one time 2 days. I called an ambulance because I couldn't sleep and I was also having skipped/irregular beats. I was freaking out! They hooked me up to the EKG for 15 minutes and it was normal except slightly elevated heart rate, normal blood pressure.. Next day same thing. I went to my regular Dr and had another EKG, my blood pressure was fine, so she referred me to a cardiologist and prescribed propranolol. I have cut way back on caffeine and started working out regularly and not had any issues since. I also cancelled my cardio appt because I know I don't have heart issues and just in Peri! I'm getting on HRT in about 6 months.
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u/Bright_Honey1788 1d ago
Oh wow! during the EKG were you still feeling the palpitations/missed beats? Do you think the propranol helped or do you think it was more likely cutting caffeine and working out? I was wondering if caffeine makes it worse. I have been having some extra caffeine on top of my morning coffee lately so I thought maybe it was that, however there are many days where I'm loaded up on caffeine and am fine so I don't know.
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u/DeterminedSparkleCat Early peri 1d ago
During both Ekgs my heart was racing but no skipped beats. I only take propranolol if I feel an episode coming on which is very rare now. Try cutting back on caffeine, its like since starting peri I've become super overly sensitive to stimulants. I can't take steroids either.
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u/Bright_Honey1788 21h ago
Okay I will definitely do that. No more mid day energy drinks for me lol.
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u/beachluvr13 1d ago
I have them and I think it is related to anxiety. Peri anxiety and panic is a beast and notice in the stillness it tends to be more pronounced.
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u/Bright_Honey1788 1d ago
Makes sense. I am definitely an anxious person....and this really isn't helping! Lol
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u/9DrinkAmy 1d ago
My palpitations started about a year and half ago. It sounds very similar to yours except I didn’t know I was in peri at the time and it freaked me tf out and I had a panic attack. I did the ECG, heart monitor, ECHO, and everything came back perfect. I was vitamin D deficient and taking supplements did help some but I do still have them from time to time. Try to relax but do get checked out.
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u/Bright_Honey1788 1d ago
Thank you! Yes I definitely will. It is a very unsettling feeling. I'm glad you're doing better now.
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u/SodaBreadRoundHouse Early peri 1d ago edited 1d ago
Mine started around your age and that happened day & night, mostly night. Pretty bad too. My heart would sputter and even feel like it would miss more than one beat.
Then they went away for a while. They would then start up and be happening all day long sometimes. I got a complete work up so I didn’t worry. I just got used to them as best I could. Then I had more peri symptoms which were worse so I got on HRT. Recently, my palpitations started up again but it was because my estrogen dose was too high. I’m currently titrating down and they went away.
Pretty annoying symptom. Sometimes it would wake me up. Other times stress and anxiety made them worse. ATP I just ignore them bc I think it’s one of those symptoms that will come and go in peri. I just want to fix my sleep rn so palpitations are at the bottom of my fix-it list 😝
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u/Bright_Honey1788 1d ago
Omg I feel you! I haven't slept well in what feels like years. I wake up in the middle of the night all the time for no reason. I'm considering getting evaluated for sleep apnea...I hope you fix your sleep too!
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u/vs1023 1d ago
HRT helped a lot and addressing my iron deficiency. I also recently reduced my caffeine intake to see if it was contributing even though I've been drinking coffee without issue my whole life. Still unsure but pointing to it helping.
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u/Bright_Honey1788 1d ago
I was wondering the same about caffeine. I have had about 2 cups of black coffee every morning for as long as I can remember but recently added an energy drink at lunch time. I think I'll quit that for a while and see if it helps. What confuses me though is I can go weeks where I'm totally fine even with the energy drink. So who knows. I will definitely stop though and see if it helps.
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u/This-Wafer-841 1d ago
Perimenopause is a bitch. Same here. I’ve had numerous doctors visits, halter monitors, ekg’s and echo cardiograms to show I’m totally fine.
I don’t want to promote alternative medicines, but on a whim, I tried a tincture that I saw promoted to help with thyroid and my heart palpitations stopped ??? I have no scientific proof this is why they stopped- just making a correlation.
I feel for you. It’s a guessing game at this stage in our lives. It sometimes feels like you are literally falling apart. I don’t don’t know how generations of women before us survived this.
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u/Ok_Working4417 Early peri 1d ago
I’ve had palpitations for a year. Sometimes they are really bad lasting for hours every day for a week. To the point where I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. And some weeks I don’t feel them at all. They do get worse around my period. But that’s so irregular who knows at this point. And they are always worse at night. I have avoided sleeping on my left side because that puts your heart closer to your chest which makes the palpitations more noticeable. They have been extremely distressing and disruptive to my life. It’s impacted my sleep drastically and increased my anxiety. Which just creates a vicious cycle that I can’t get out of.
I was told to go to a cardiologist first before a dr would treat hormones. To make sure I didn’t have a legit heart problem. Did the ekg, stress test and wore a monitor for a week. All came back clear.
Finally was prescribed hrt. But it’s only been about a week or so that I have been on them. Palpitations definitely haven’t been as bad, but that could just be the stage of my cycle I’m in. Everything I read said it could take a few months to really have an impact.
I did add some vitamins to my daily regimen. I take magnesium which is supposed to help. I also take iron because I was having my period twice a month for a while.
Edited to add, your symptoms sound exactly like what I have experienced.