Archives For Palpitations

Can Dehydration Cause Heart Palpitations?

Tom August  —  April 14, 2015

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

The short answer is yes. Dehydration can cause your heart to skip. I have found that even just a little dehydration can make my heart begin to flutter. So drinking more water and staying hydrated has helped with my heart palpitations.

I used to hate drinking water. Maybe it was the funny taste the tap water had in our town, but I would rather drink anything other than water. I guess I come by it honestly because I don’t think I’ve ever seen my 87-year-old grandfather drink anything but coffee and the occasional diet mountain dew. (It’s really quite remarkable really. I don’t know how he does it).

Can Dehydration Cause Heart Palpitations?

photo credit: dreamjay

My view on water drastically changed when I got food poisoning one night from eating at an Applebees. Fluids were exiting my body in all manner of directions (curse you, Applebees!!) and I quickly became so dehydrated that I had to be rushed to the hospital. I spent the night there hooked up to IVs that helped me overcome the severe dehydration. From then on, I tried to make it a point to always stay hydrated.

I was reminded of this again when I started having heart palpitations a few years later. Many people (myself included) experience heart palpitations even from a small amount of dehydration. I didn’t want to chance it, so I made sure to get my recommended amount of water every day (I actually tracked it each day).

The result of drinking more water was incredible. Continue Reading…

In Cures and Remedies, Palpitations
 permalink

Life Off Beat is Back on Track

Tom August  —  April 6, 2015

Hey Everyone! It’s been a while since I have posted an update or article, so I just wanted to let everyone know that I am finally able to get back to updating Life Off Beat!

Life Off Beat - A Site for Managing or Finding a Cure for Heart Palpitations

It has been a crazy busy year with work, but things are slowing down. I am ready to jump back in and get back writing about managing heart palpitations. This has been my best year yet with my PVCs, so I can’t wait to fill you in on all that I have learned and experienced.

This comes at a great time for me too since my wife and I are expecting our fourth child in a few weeks (yep, we now have four boys!!). So things are about to get a little more crazy around here which means my heart palpitations generally get worse. So I need to be prepared!

“You know what it’s like having four kids? Imagine you’re drowning. And someone hands you a baby.” – Jim Gaffigan, “My Dad is Fat”

So over the next few weeks and months I will be posting about all the possible cures for heart palpitations as well as how I have been managing my heart skips. I will also try to provide some in-depth reviews on some products I find helpful and other products that I think are a scam so you don’t end up buying them like I did.

I hope y’all are doing well. I know the struggle is real and incredibly frustrating, so I hope you all are finding peace and success in your journey with heart palpitations!

If you are not already signed up to receive email updates for Life Off Beat, be sure to sign up HERE.

In Miscellaneous, Palpitations
 permalink

Can Sleep Cure Your Heart Palpitations?

Tom August  —  September 11, 2014

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

Ahhhh sleep. It seems so simple. Almost too simple. Surely just a few more minutes of sleep each night won’t cure my heart palpitations, right? Wrong. Sleep is important. I would argue that if you have heart palpitations, the first thing you should consider adjusting is your sleeping habits.

Sleep and Heart Palpitations

Photo Credit: WallyMC

A large percentage of heart palpitations are caused by stress and anxiety. The less you sleep, the more you are prone to become anxious.

I can’t honestly say that getting more sleep instantly cured my heart palpitations. It didn’t. But it did help…a lot. And now that my palpitations are under control, getting the right amount of sleep is essential to keeping them under control. If my palpitations start coming back, the first thing I do is try to get more sleep, and more often than not that does the trick.

Unfortunately, when I first got heart palpitations, I couldn’t sleep. Continue Reading…

In Cures and Remedies, Palpitations
 permalink

The Different Causes of Heart Palpitations

Tom August  —  November 11, 2013

We have already covered the definition of heart palpitations in the last post, so now would be a good time to talk about the causes of our heart palpitations. Knowing what may be causing our heart palpitations goes a long way to figuring out what will help manage or cure them.

Heart Palpitation Causes

Photo Credit: Justin Visser

This is where I made a big mistake. When I first got heart palpitations, I panicked. I went to the ER where they did some basic tests and found nothing wrong. I went straight home and googled “how to cure heart palpitations.” But I had skipped a step. I was looking for a cure without knowing the cause. It was like having a broken down car and googling “how to start a car that won’t work.” There are a number of reasons a heart will palpitate. Not every situation is the same and trying each possible solution is time consuming and potentially can make matters worse. So before we go into the possible cures for heart palpitations, it’s important to understand the different causes of heart palpitations. Continue Reading…

In Miscellaneous, Palpitations
 permalink

The Different Types of Irregular Heartbeats

Tom August  —  November 6, 2013

Like many of you, the first thing I did when I first realized that my heart was skipping a beat was look online for what was happening to me. And, yep, my suspicions were confirmed…I was going to die. At least that what every website seemed to tell me. I’m sure there were statements about most palpitations being harmless, but all I read were the parts about having a heart attack or my heart stop beating and falling over dead. WebMD is great for some things I’m sure, but checking symptoms is not one of them. All roads seem to lead to disease or death.

Types of Palpitations

Photo Credit: Yosep

Most Palpitations are Harmless

So before we go any further, I just want to make it clear that MOST HEART PALPITATIONS ARE HARMLESS. And this isn’t jet me talking, this is according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. There are some very serious medical conditions that can cause heart palpitations, so that is obviously where the confusion, terror, anxiety, and panic come in. Continue Reading…

In Palpitations
 permalink

Life Off Beat is Back in Action!

Tom August  —  November 1, 2013

It has been a little while since I last wrote a blog post. I have tried to stay active in the comment section of each post, but a major project at work has kept me busy for the last few months. But now I am ready to jump back into the rubrics cube of heart palpitations. And it couldn’t come at a better time. The same life changes that lead to my irregular heart beat back in 2009 are happening again. My wife and I just had our third child, we are in the process of moving again, and my job is changing. It’s a palpitation “perfect storm.” But this time, my goal is to prepare myself and come out of the storm a better man.

Heart Palpitations Anxiety

Photo Credit: Andreas Krappweis

So over the next few weeks and months, I will be going back through all my research and notes and blogging about what has helped me in my journey to manage/cure my heart palpitaitons as well as what has helped others with their irregular heartbeats.

Here is a quick overview of what I will be covering: Continue Reading…

In Miscellaneous, Palpitations
 permalink

6 Ways to Instantly Stop Heart Palpitations

Life Off Beat  —  September 19, 2011

Few things are worse (or scarier) than palpitations that come every few seconds and won’t seem to go away.  It feels like your heart is about to give up.  I have often focused on permanent remedies that will remove heart palpitations for good, but there are some temporary techniques/solutions that will hopefully stop or slow them down for a while. (If you want to see a longer list of cures and remedies, be sure to check out my post called “The Best Cures and Remedies for Heart Palpitations”)

Photo credit: Flickr (Creative Commons)

I wish I would have known some of these instant tips and tricks when I first felt my palpitations go out of control.  Some work better than others, but all of them are worth trying (if you are physically able to do so.)  Just remember, only do these if your doctor has said that your heart palpitations are just an annoyance and nothing to worry about.  The last thing you want to do is waste time doing these exercises when you should be going to a hospital. Continue Reading…

In Cures and Remedies, Palpitations
 permalink