heat making heart race

[bashley]

Hi has anyone felt bad in this excessive heat. Only i was sitting in my car and the heat was intense and suddenly my heart started to race and i felt a couple of flutters it really scared me. I'm already worried that i have a heart problem and docs keep saying i don't but this really scared me. Please can someone reassure me that due to the heat healthy people can feel like this as im really scared.

[Going home]

Hi bashley, yes extreme temperatures can alter your heartrate and cause it to beat faster or flutter/miss beats in the heat. For women, any change in body temperature can do this too as in ovulation, during pregnancy and menopause. It can also happen in extreme cold, and sometimes during the winter i can get heart flutters too.

Hope this helps
Anna xx

[DoogieJ]

Without adding to things you may have not noticed but will after reading this....when you have a warm bath your heart rate goes up too.

[Dazza]

Dehydration is also a cause of palpitations, so be sure to drink lots of fluids, preferably water. I live in the tropics, and I find that drinking of off water helps with reducing palps due to hot weather.

[pollyanna]

The very thing happened to me today too, as much as i like to see the sun, i always get a bit stressed and worried by the heat... this has happened a few times over the years, good advice from others, keep hydrated.

tc
P

[RLR]

This is entirely normal. It is known as thermoregulation. In response to excessive ambient temperatures, the body first reacts by producing sweat which cools the skin and body as it evaporates. Secondly, the heart rate increases because it forces more blood circulation at the vessels nearer to the surface of the skin and permits it to be cooled much in the same way that the cooling system in your car passes coolant through a radiator and fan in order to maintain a certain temperature range.

It's important to stay well-hydrated and limit exposure to the heat, particularly when combined with unshielded skin against the sun. Heat exhaustion can and does occur in extreme temperatures and the warning signs are often not detected until the individual is affected.

You're fine and there's nothing wrong with your heart.

Best regards,

Rutheford Rane, MD (ret.)

[chellebell]

you are fine. your heart is fine. It is very, very common for anxiety symptoms to worsen in heat. The summer time is a bigger ordeal for many anxiety sufferers.
try to sip water when you feel anxious, and remember to breath slowly and deeply, right down into the bottom of your lungs. xx

[Going home]

Chelle, as an anx sufferer I don't think ive ever been able to take deep breaths down to the bottom of my lungs for fear of passing out half way down but I keep trying

Anna xx