How does anxiety actually cause palps?

[crazyhayz]

Scientifically speaking!!

Anyone know how anxiety/stress actually makes the palps happen?? I know adreanlin has alot to do with it and i know anxiety/stress is the main cause of palps in people, but HOW exactly does it cause them??

Just curious really! :)

[blueangel]

Hi there

If I remember rightly (from what my GP told me years ago), when we get anxious we suddenly produce two hormones, adrenaline and noradrenaline. These are both produced in our adrenal glands, which I think are near our kidneys. Both of these hormones are primitive, as they developed to give us the ability to fight our foes, or get away from them (which is why they're sometimes called the "fight or flight" hormones).

The physical effects of these are that our pulse increases, we become more aware of our surroundings (I think sight and hearing improve temporarily) and we get the adrenaline rush that gives us more energy, but also that makes us twitchy and frightened. Obviously, this doesn't last for long and they get processed in our tissues and the effect wears off. When we're anxious though, we can get flooded by these hormones constantly, which is exhausting.

Therefore, adrenaline and noradrenaline have a direct effect on pulse rate, which is why they cause palpitations or tachycardia (or both!)

Hope this helps - I'm not an expert, but I think there are a couple of nurses on here who could probably expand on this a bit if you want more technical detail.