Q: Doc my heart beats too much, mostly if I lift heavier weights

A: Thanks for writing in.

The post below would speak to your question.

A: Palpitations occur when you get the sense that you can feel your heart beat. Ordinarily, your heart goes about its business of keeping you alive and well by beating inside your chest without you being aware, right? Some conditions, however, may make your heart beats obvious and you probably have experienced some: anxiety, panic attacks, stress, after some exercise or intense activity (like lifting heavy objects as described above), when you have a fever, after taking some coffee or any caffeine-containing food/fluid and also after taking in nicotine as in cigarette smoke, cigar or even chewing tobacco. Conditions like pregnancy and taking drugs eg cough medicines that contain stimulants may also cause palpitations.

Usually these palpitations would disappear after a brief appearance, but if they appear frequently and are accompanied by other symptoms like chest pain, being short of breath etc, please be sure to see your doctor to confirm that this is not a sign of a bigger problem with significant complications.

Treatment is focused on the cause. Where stress or anxiety is the trigger, management is really all about coping with stress and making sure that you have more ‘good’ stress than bad stress (remember that good stress has a life cycle…it starts and ends within defined periods while bad stress is from situations that are not handled properly and remain a source of ‘worry’ continually). If it’s due to caffeine and nicotine…simple: stop or significantly reduce. For coffee, 2 cups (teensy weensy lady-like cups :D) a day should be the very maximum For nicotine though, you just have to let it go.

Finally, if you indulge in other drugs of ‘recreation’ eg cocaine etc, please leave well alone!

Have a good night, people and keep those hearts doing their things without you knowing