Archives For Tom August

7 Exercises That Help Stop Heart Palpitations

Tom August  —  November 9, 2020
WARNING! If you are having heart palpitations, please do not do any exercise without the consent of your primary care physician and/or your cardiologist. If you experience shortness of breath, dizziness, and/or chest pains seek medical attention immediately.

[Note: This post is part of a larger series about the The Best Cures and Remedies for Heart Palpitations]

When I first started having heart palpitations and ended up at the ER, I completely stopped exercising. I thought that if I tried to workout I would have a heart attack. I was running fairly regularly too, and I enjoy being active, so it was hard to slow down. But I thought it was for my good. I was wrong. In hindsight, I think that it only made my anxiety and fear worse, not to mention my heart palpitations. I wasn’t able to burn off any of the stress that I was having from work and from the heart palpitations themselves.

Exercises to Help Stop Heart Palpitations

Photo Credit: said_w

My Cardiologist Told Me To Exercise

It wasn’t until I had a bazillion tests done and met with my cardiologist that I finally got back into exercising. And it made a big difference. I now had a way to “reset” my heart back to it’s normal rhythm. Eventually the heart palpitations would come back, but I could always run outside or jump on a treadmill and 20-30 minutes later I would feel a lot better.

I Relied Too Much on Exercise

I thought exercise was my magic cure all. However, I was miserable at night and couldn’t sleep with all my heart skips. There were also times I couldn’t get to the gym, like during work, and it was rough. I ended up doing crazy things like 20 minutes of jumping jacks at 3am just to make the heart palpitations go away. It wasn’t very practical. Since then, I have found other things that help reduce my heart palpitations – like eating smarter and smaller meals, breathing exercises, meditation, etc… Exercise is still the best way to get my heart back to a normal beat again, but now it’s not the only way.

Rhythmic Exercises Help Heart Palpitations the Best

Not all exercises are created equal. Some are better than others for heart palpitations (at least in my experience). Continue Reading…

In Cures and Remedies, Fitness, Palpitations
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Heart Palpitations Update 2020

Tom August  —  January 6, 2020

Hey Everyone! I hope you all are doing well. I get a number of emails and comments from many of you asking for an update on my heart palpitations, so I thought I would write a post about where I currently am in my journey to cure my heart palpitations and what’s in store for the future. I apologize for not being as responsive as I would like on comments and emails lately. My job has been crazy, but I’m determined to put more into time into this site. Blogging through my journey with heart palpitations has been a huge blessing. This is an awesome community and I love how we are all helping each other.

WHERE I AM NOW IN MY BATTLE AGAINST HEART PALPITATIONS

I can’t believe how much things have changed since I first started this blog. I feel like a whole new person. It’s been an incredible journey. I’ve gone from thousands of heart skips a day to to next to nothing for weeks if not months at a time. I used to obsess about every skipped beat, every heart palpitation, but now I rarely think about it. I would have never believed it was possible all those years I struggled with heart palpations. As I have written before (you can read more about my story HERE) it was awful. It was a nightmare that affected my family, my work, and my relationships. It consumed me. 

Finally, after nine years, I found a routine and system that works for me and my heart palpitations have pretty much went away entirely (here are some heart palpitations cures and remedies that I found helpful). I still occasionally experience some every now and again, but it’s rare. I feel like I’m the healthiest I have ever been and I’ve learned to manage stress and anxiety like I never thought I could. I still monitor my health pretty closely, and I try to do an annual physical just to make sure everything is good, but overall I feel like I am in a really great place. I hope that is encouraging to you all who are still experiencing a ton of heart palpitations tight now. I know it feels discouraging times, but if things can turn around for me, anything is possible!

WHAT’S NEXT FOR LIFE OFF BEAT

So what’s next for this blog? My hope is to do a better job detailing what has helped me over the past few years. I hear from a lot of you that are right in the midst of a difficult struggle. I would love to help you all as much as I can since I was helped by so many people on my journey (and still am). I realize that everyone’s heart palpitation journey is different and what works for me may not work for everyone else, but hopefully you can apply something of what I have learned to your own situation.  I plan on writing more articles and I may try branching out to different formats for the blog too like audio or video as well 

I would love to also build a better way to communicate and collaborate as a community. There are so many similar experiences that it would be great if it was easier to find similar stories and share tips and tricks you all have learned in your own journey. 

And I’m still trying to improve in all the key areas (sleep, exercise, stress management, life management, diet, etc) so I will likely write about that some as well. I have some fun ideas that I will try to roll out as the year goes on. 

If you would like to follow along, be sure to sign up for my email list and I will send you an email when new articles are posted (no spam, I promise).  
And if you have any ideas for the blog or topics you would like to see covered, be sure to let me know in the comments below! 

In Miscellaneous
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The Best Cures and Remedies for Heart Palpitations

Tom August  —  January 6, 2020

When I first started having heart skips I spent an embarrassing amount of time scouring the internet looking for the illusive cure for heart palpitations. If you are reading this right now I suspect you are doing, or have done, the same thing. This blog series is an effort to put an end to the hours of mindless research for cures. My hope is that it will help you quickly find what works best to manage your palpitations so you can get back to a normal life.

Natural Cures for Heart Palpitations

Photo Credit: Gerard79

So in order to consolidate things, I have tried to put together a running list of possible “cures” for heart palpitations that I have found in my research across the internet. For each palpitation remedy I have written or will write a post with more details so you can comment on whether that specific cure worked for you or not.

I’m not saying that these work for everyone (or that you should try any or all of them), I am just saying that someone, somewhere on the internet has claimed that it worked for them (I will do my best to provide links to where I found it so you can dig deeper if you would like). There are many different types of heart palpitations and many different causes, so what works for someone else may not work for you. Also, many of these cures were likely the result of multiple factors and not just one single thing. And as always, please don’t try any of these without first consulting your primary care physician and/or your cardiologist.

My goal is to try and find the BEST cures for palpitations (as determined by actual people). The only way to do that is with your help. So please be sure to let us know what has worked best for you and what hasn’t worked!

If you would like to get an email every time I discuss a new cure, be sure to sign up for the Life Off Beat mailing list – you can do that HERE. No spam, I promise (and of course you can unsubscribe at any time).

So without further ado, here is the list I have put together so far. Please let me know if I left anything off!
Continue Reading…

In Cures and Remedies, Miscellaneous, Palpitations
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My Review of AliveCor Kardia Mobile EKG for Heart Palpitations

Tom August  —  February 16, 2017

A few months back, my cousin underwent his second treatment for Atrial Fibrillation (AFib). His treatment was relatively successful, but I began to grow worried that my “benign” heart palpitations would evolve into atrial fibrillation since I had read somewhere online that it was a possibility (I’m not sure if that is actually true, but it definitely got me thinking about it, and I wanted a way to track, or at least monitor, my heart palpitations). Atrial fibrillation carries with it a higher risk of stroke, so I thought it would be awesome if there was a cheaper way to get an EKG than going to the doctor. I even thought it would save me some time and money if I just bought a used full scale EKG machine online (heart palpitations make you do crazy things 🙂 ). But once I started doing some research I came across a cool little product called AliveCor. It’s certainly not a full replacement of a 12 node EKG report, but it can detect heart arrhythmias, particularly A-fib.

AliveCor Mobile EKG ECG - Is it worth it?

I bought mine on Amazon and the cost was only $95 (I admit that can be lot of money, at least for me, but compared to a doctor’s visit and a EKG test, it seemed reasonable). I was skeptical at first, but I’ve actually been really impressed at what this little device can do.

AliveCor is a small rectangular device that records ECGs and your heart rate. All you have to do is place your fingers on the little metal pads. It sends the data to a free AliveCor app you download on your smartphone. You can also stick the device on the back of a phone case for easier use, but I actually found it worked best when I set it flat on a table next to the phone. If you did decide to stick the device on your phone case, you can also rest the phone case electrodes on your chest and get a reading that way. Once your ECG/pulse rate is recorded and saved, you can add notes as well as send your recording to your Cardiologist. You can also have a specialist look at your readings as well for a small fee (around $12).

Continue Reading…

In Palpitations, Resources
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Can a Chiropractor Help Reduce Heart Palpitations?

Tom August  —  February 8, 2017

Heart Palpitations Cured by Chiropractor

[Note: This post is part of a larger series about the The Best Cures and Remedies for Heart Palpitations]

When my heart palpitations were at their worst and my spirits were at their lowest, I started telling people about my situation in hopes of finding someone with a solution (you can read my story HERE). An acquaintance of mine suggested that he may be able to help since he was a chiropractor. He laid out a compelling argument that heart palpitations could be caused by nerves being pinched in my spine. I had back and arm pain, especially when I was anxious, that mimicked a heart attack (or so I thought), so this sounded reasonable to me.

I visited his office and his staff was incredibly kind. However, his practice honestly felt like a sham. It was very expensive and once my name was called I would go lay down on a bed that rolled/massaged my back. The doctor would then come in and give me “electronic” acupuncture, which was painless and felt like he just put a tiny flashlight to different parts of my body. I was then told I would need to do this three times a week. Yikes!

Continue Reading…

In Cures and Remedies, Palpitations
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Could An Electrolyte Imbalance Be Causing Your Heart Palpitations?

Tom August  —  November 11, 2016

[Note: This post is part of a larger series about the The Best Cures and Remedies for Heart Palpitations]

I think one of the first things that my doctor asked me about when I started having heart palpitations (you can read my story HERE) was if I had been running a lot or felt dehydrated in any way. The reason was because having an electrolyte imbalance is a very common cause of heart palpitations. It’s generally the first thing listed in articles online about the causes of palpitations.

Could an Electrolyte Imbalance be causing your heart palpitations?

What are the electrolytes?

When I hear the word electrolytes I think of sports drinks like Gatorade that supposedly replenish electrolytes for athletes. I also assumed that if a person was low on electrolytes that it generally meant that they needed more potassium or sodium (just eat a banana, right?). I didn’t realize that it also includes elements like chloride, calcium, sulfate, phosphate, bicarbonate, and magnesium. These electrically charged ions are critical to muscle function (including the heart). The electrical impulse they create help contract the heart and keep it pumping at a normal rate and speed, so If there is an issue with the body’s electrical system then it can cause slower beats, skipped beat, fast beats, etc.

Continue Reading…

In Cures and Remedies, Palpitations, Supplements
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The GIF That Helps Calm My Heart Palpitations

Tom August  —  September 9, 2016

I don’t remember where I came across this on the interwebs (it can be found in a number of places) but this simple little GIF has been a wonderful tool in my “Stop My Heart Palpitations” toolbox. It’s really simple, but that is the beauty of it.

All it does it expand and contract with geometric shapes. You can sync your breathing to it and really helps with anxiety. When I’m anxious, my heart palpitations go wild, so anything to calm me down is a blessing. It’s a small thing, but I have put it on my phone and look at it when I’m really feeling anxious.

Continue Reading…

In Anxiety, Breathing Techniques, Cures and Remedies, Palpitations, Stress, Stress Management
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My Favorite Supplement for Heart Palpitations

Tom August  —  July 1, 2016

[Note: This post is part of a larger series about the The Best Cures and Remedies for Heart Palpitations]

If there was one supplement that I would recommend that you take to help cure, manage, or stop your heart palpitations, it would be magnesium. When I was researching possible cures to help my awful heart palps, by far the most frequently stated cure for just about any type of irregular heartbeat was magnesium. I even read that if you go to the hospital for a panic attack or suspected heart related issue the first thing they do is start you on a magnesium drip. Comment after comment, article after article, would list magnesium as the best place to start when you have heart palpitations. Some said it completely stopped their heart palpitations, others said it reduced them drastically. So of course magnesium was one of the first supplements I tried when my palpitations were out of control.

Magnesium My favorite supplement for heart palpitations

My Magnesium Mistake

Unfortunately, I made a mistake on my first purchase. Apparently a pretty common one too. I had no idea that there were different forms of magnesium and it was important which one you took. If I remember right, I just went to Walmart and grabbed the cheapest bottle of magnesium I could find. I started taking it and didn’t really see much benefit. It wasn’t till later that I read about the different forms and purposes of magnesium (I plan on writing more about the different types of magnesium soon). I finally ended up with a type of magnesium I like (it blends taurate, glycinate, and malate). It’s called Triple Calm Magnesium, but I explain more below why I like it so much.

Continue Reading…

In Anxiety, Cures and Remedies, Nutrition, Palpitations, Sleep, Stress, Stress Management, Supplements
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3 Reasons I Do Yoga for Heart Palpitations

Tom August  —  June 24, 2016

[Note: This post is part of a larger series about the The Best Cures and Remedies for Heart Palpitations]

When I was looking around the internet for cures for my heart palpitations, I continually came across recommendations to do yoga. I saw a few articles that said that doing yoga greatly reduces irregular heartbeats. However, I also saw some comments on blog posts that said that they experienced more heart palpitations when they tried to do yoga, so I wasn’t sure what to do.

Yoga for Heart Palpitations

I tried it and my heart palpitations were so bad at the time (you can read about my story here) that it didn’t matter what kind of yoga I was doing, all I could focus on was the skipped beats which were happening about every third beat. So I stopped yoga. It wasn’t until later, after my heart palpitations slowed down a bit, that I came back and tried it again. And I’m glad I did.

The Benefits of Yoga for Heart Palpitations

Yoga has a number of benefits. You can find articles all over the internet touting the wonderfulness of daily yoga, but the three best, in my opinion are:

Continue Reading…

In Anxiety, Cures and Remedies, Meditation Techniques, Palpitations, Stress, Stress Management
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How I Use Meditation to Relieve My Heart Palpitations

Tom August  —  April 30, 2015

[Note: This post is part of a larger series about the The Best Cures and Remedies for Heart Palpitations]

Meditation is (or was) a foreign concept to me. Prior to heart palpitations I never tried it. It seemed like some mystical aspiration for gurus or hippies. But after developing heart palpitations, I kept stumbling on to articles extolling the calming virtues of meditation. And then I saw an article that said Jerry Seinfeld credited much of his success to his daily meditation. Really?! Seinfeld! That sealed the deal. I had to check into this whole meditation thing. So I tried it. And of course I loved it. Apparently there are a zillion different ways to meditate (ranging from bizarre to bare minimal) but I finally found a way that works for me.

How I Use Meditation to Help Relieve My Heart Palpitations

How I Meditate with Heart Palpitations

I already wrote about the breathing exercises I do (you can see that post HERE). I occasionally combine both my meditation and my breathing exercises, but I prefer to do them separately if I have the time.

Like my breathing exercises, I always have a hard time focusing when my heart palpitations are going crazy. So I use a massager and place it on my chest if I am laying down or propped up on my back if I am sitting up (this is the massager I use). The vibrations from the massager make it harder for me to feel each heart skip. Otherwise, all I can think about are the palpitations and my “meditation” time is anything but peaceful.

How I Prepare for Meditation

I also try to find a nice, quiet, comfortable spot in the house (sometimes I go into our closet where it is nice and dark and other times I sit by a window in the warm sunlight). I typically like to lie down, but occasionally I will bring a giant comfy pillow (like this one) and sit up with my legs crossed and my back against the wall or a couch.

I love good smelling candles, so I will also light candles when possible. I really think that certain smells can be comforting and bring us back to familiar, restful places. I love Eucalyptus & Peppermint candles (especially this one) and Cinnamon Candles (this is another one I’ve used and enjoy). The Eucalyptus candle is supposedly great for stress and reminds me of my house growing up, and the cinnamon candle reminds me of the Christmas holidays and just makes me happy.

How I Meditate

Once I get situated, I put my headphones on (this may be a meditation no no, I don’t know) and I start listening to music or pre-recorded reminders that I made. I use noise canceling headphones because I have a house full of boys and it’s pretty much the only way to ensure a quiet environment (if you are interested, here is the pair of headphones that I use and love. They are awesome). Continue Reading…

In Cures and Remedies, Meditation Techniques, Miscellaneous, Palpitations, Stress, Stress Management
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