Has anyone managed to reduce their palpitations? What did you do?

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I've had palpitations daily for years and years. Sometimes only a few per day, other times it seems to be every other beat. My heart has been tested multiple times and all seems to be well with it, GP has just ruled it as "one of those things".

They've always bugged me, but they're really bugging me recently (I think it's because I've just recovered from another annoying health issue and I half expected nothing in my body to bother me at all for a while ).
They're definitely worse/very frequent immediately after eating anything sugary or carby, so I'm going to cut down on that to see if it makes any difference. I don't drink anything caffeinated, no fizzy or sugary drinks whatsoever because that makes them worse. I don't drink alcohol at all. I'm generally active. I am pretty permanently stressed but I'm not actually sure how to limit that (it involves 4 young DC!) - would it make a huge difference if I somehow did manage to reduce stress?! I'm not particularly anxious or anything with it though.

Is there anything anyone has done to successfully reduce their palpitations day to day?! GP hasn't offered any medication based on them alone.

It took 7 years of palpitations and severe pain before my cousin was diagnosed with SVT. She was fobbed off with similar to you until she collapsed with palpitations & a high really fast heart rate. She ended up having a catheter ablation and hasn't had an attack since then.

https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/conditions-and-treatments/conditions-we-treat/supraventricular-tachycardia/

For me stopping all caffeine and making sure I drink enough water.

@ZoomDoomZoom Oh bloody hell that's scary! I think this was something my GP had actually looked into (years back), but since my heart wasn't particularly racing/fast and I'd had an ECG monitoring it during an episode of fluttery beats it was ruled out. It's something they definitely could have missed by chance though I suppose! If no dietary/life changes make any difference I'll definitely go back.

I had lots of ecg's last yr for a separate reason and they were all fine, but in further tests for this other health condition it was discovered that I have heart disease. I started doing cardio, and the palpitations that I've had for decades have eased right down, perhaps 4 a week as opposed to a few a day. Do you do any cardio?

@dudsville Oh dear! How was it discovered? I have actually had chest bloods done recently (before discovering my problem was a dodgy gallbladder), would that have flagged something like that?
I do lots and lots of walking daily, not very often I do anything more intense though.

I have ectopic heart beats and a fast heart rate, I was prescribed bisoprolol which has been amazing. I do still have the odd episode however but not as bad as before the medication. I have stopped caffeine and fizzy drinks, but alcohol and hot weather can still have an affect

I was diagnosed with SVT (super ventricular tachycardia) when I was 21. It took a few years of me heading into a&e (every couple of months) with a rapid heart rate for them to diagnose me. I had laser treatment (via my groin) to fix it, and haven't had any issues since. I'm now 42. It was the most uncomfortable, and worrying feeling when they'd start, and it was always in the middle of the night. My parents would have to call an ambulance everytime it happened, as I'd need to be given drugs to bring the heart rate back down again. As soon as it did come back down again, the relief was immense.

I'd go back to the GP, and ask them to test you for SVT.

I had a 24hr ECG for frequent palpitations and the cardiologist who reviewed it afterwards (was nothing to worry about) recommended taking magnesium. I checked what foods are high in magnesium and realised my diet was pretty lacking so started taking magnesium tablets and it really helped.

I had SVT that flared up massively in menopause. The consultant said it should tail off as I got older, and it has. There was no way of improving my health or fitness so he was happy to leave me to deal with it without treatment.

A recent dose of covid has flared it back up again this week though. I hope it vanishes again soon.

Might be POTS?

water and salts

I get palpitations when my iron levels are low. Has your iron been tested?

Another vote for Beta Blockers - mine is also Bisoprolol, same as pp. It must be prescribed obviously but I think some beta blockers are given to calm things down even if you don't have palpitations I think they are propranolol.

However, I have Atrial Fibrillation which is arrythmia. Touch wood well controlled with Bisoprolol now but it was dreadful before full diagnosis and proper treatment. Have you been checked for Afib?

My mum had this. The cardiologist told her to cut out caffeine. Within 2 weeks, the palpitations had completely gone

I began suffering palpitations which were eventually diagnosed as benign ectopic beats by a cardiologist I saw privately. He sent me for a load of tests including a 6-day ECG monitor, echocardiogram and CT angiogram.

The cardiologist told me the Covid vaccine may have been responsible for the condition.

You may want to ask your GP for a referral, but bear in mind travel insurance companies usually won't insure you if you're under investigation for a heart condition.

The likelihood is that stress is causing yours, I know that if I'm stressed, they ramp up.
Can you fit in some yoga and especially meditation?

Also, drinking plenty of water/herbal tea and regular cardio exercise help me plus taking magnesium glycinite supplements and making sure I eat enough protein - 1.4g of protein per kilo of bodyweight. The cardiologist also advised me to make sure I was getting enough salt or to take rehydration sachets - but I think you should seek medical advice about that as everyone is different and people are usually advised to be careful with sodium intake.

For those of you with (or with knowledge of) SVT, is it always accompanied by a fast heart rate? I check my own pulse during the particularly fluttery episodes and my heart seems to remain at about 70bpm give or take, just with the occasional beat completely out of sync. I think it's something I'm definitely going to ask my GP to recheck for me!

@EveryoneButSam Ooh, I've just googled foods high in magnesium and I very rarely eat any of them - most of them I never eat! I'm going to give some supplements a try, good idea!

Beta blockers - propranonol. I love it.

If you've had anxiety or loosing weight get your thyroid checked too - hyperthyroid here and have hypertension alongside it - always thought anxiety was the crazy rush of adrenaline and panic. Even gave me panic attacks. It is all down to my thyroid being off whack.

Also, look up York Cardiology on YouTube. He talks about magnesium amongst other things.

There are also fitness trackers which will do an ECG for you when symptoms come on (you have to sit down and press a button to start it yourself) and you can send/show the readout to your doctor/cardiologist.

Vagus nerve exercises

another vote for getting the thyroid checked. Mine was borderline for years and had palpitations on and off until thyroid was finally treatable. Also added iron, Folate and b12 .

I had them for 2 years daily. Slapped on more & more hrt thinking it was hormones. Then my iron levels showed as low & I started on iron tablets. Palpitations pretty much gone now!! Check your iron!

Agree, they can help stop an episode, but don't work all the time. Worth a go though. OP look up vagal manouevres.

I have had svt since I was 21 , well it was diagnosed then. The treatment talked about above is called an ablation but in the same procedure before they burn away the faulty pathway, they carry out an ep study. This is basically gold standard for diagnosis, and they try trigger the palpitations via catheters in the groin. I had this done and it was ok but i unfortunately wasn’t left right as can happen. Can vouch for beta blockers though, and have gone from needing adenosine injections in an and e frequently to not having had to go in in years! Have you also been shown how to do a valsva manovere (sorry about the spelling) it can stop the palpitations in some cases on its own. There will be videos on you tube! They normally make me blow into an empty syringe thing in an and e before they give the drugs to stop it in case that will. Oh and I also recommend an alive cor for catching instances at home. Cheap but accurate (fda approved) and you can send one lead ecgs or get them analysed directly through the app. My cardiologist recommended it to me!

I have SVT. It sounds to me like you're noticing ectopic beats. Everyone has them to some extent but most people are unaware.
SVT is very different. Your heart rate shoots up, sometimes to over 200bpm. It can resolve itself and there are techniques to stop it called valsaver manoeuvres. It's not a fluttery feeling like ectopics though, more a pounding so hard you hardlyneed to take your pulse.
Mine is pretty well controlled by drugs, calcium channel blickers, often happens in the night but self limits. Things that can trigger it are mainly illness, viruses.

DS has ectopics and occasional tachycardia, he takes bisoporol.

Another vote for magnesium supplements. I had awful palpitations that were beginning to scare me. I ended up in A&E where the cardiologist told me (after a clear chest xray, ECG and bloods) that he also suffered them. Mine are called Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs).

I started taking magnesium after some Googling and it has made a night and day impact. I barely have them anymore as long as I take the magnesium and drink plenty of water.