Heart Palpitations

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HEART PALPITATIONS

It's long past midnight and you're lying in bed, wide awake and frightened. You can't fall back to aleep because something seems to be wrong with your heart. It skipped a beat when you first woke up, and now you're lying in the darkness, waiting to see if it'll fall into that distinctive rhythm-FWOP-FWOP, F-WOP!-again. It does. So now you worry that (a) you're having a heart attack, (b) you're going to die or (c) you'll die of embarrassment if you go to the emergency room and find out that nothing is wrong after all. Chances are, none of the above will occur. Skipped heartbeats-generally reffered to as palpitations-are incredibly common. And they're not cause for panic.

Quieting a flightly heart beat

Take a deep breath

Some palpitations are caused by anxiety. Sometimes just taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling will relieve tension and discourage future skips.

Recondition your heart with exercise

Spending too little time at exercise or other active pursuits can cause palpitations simply because your heart-which is, after all, a muscle-is out of shape.

Keep alcohol to a minimum

Drinking too much alcohol can cause palpitations.

Cool the caffeine

Caffeine is what gives coffee, tea, chocolates and even some over-the-counter drugs-headache remedies. So if you're bothered by palpitations.

Don't even think of lightening up

Nicotine and other chemicals in cigarette smoke can constrict arteries and encourage heart palpitations. So if you smoke, quit.

If all else fails, ignore skipped beats

If you exercise regularly, don't over indulge and your doctor has determined that you don't have heart disease, yet your heart seems to occationally skip a beat, chances are that your palpitations are nothing to worry about. If you don't dwell on them, you're less apt to notice repeat episodes.