Pregnancy is a significant and responsible period in the life of every woman. During childbearing, all organs function at a faster pace. That is why heart palpitations during pregnancy are quite common. If the number of heart contractions is more than 100, doctors talk about tachycardia (heart palpitations). The article will discuss the causes of heart palpitations during pregnancy, symptoms of this condition, concomitant discomfort, and what to do with tachycardia and how to prevent this condition.
Causes
The pulse rate in each person is individual and depends directly on age, physique, physical health. But pregnancy is a special condition, and the causes of heart palpitations during pregnancy can be different, some of them are still inexplicable.
The main reason for the high frequency of contractions of the heart muscle is the restructuring of the hormonal background of the body. But some factors also influence the development of this condition. For example, risk factors that can cause the development of heart palpitations during pregnancy:
- Profuse blood loss.
- Constant stress.
- Thyroid disease.
- Depression and anxiety.
- Bronchial asthma.
- Infectious diseases that lead to fever.
- Detachment of the placenta.
- Ectopic pregnancy.
- Sepsis of blood.
- Side effect of drugs.
- Reception of a large amount of vitamins.
- Allergic reactions.
- Overweight.
- Coffee.
- Smoking.
- Anemia.
Doctors say that during pregnancy, a woman’s increased heart rate is the norm. But in the case of severe tachycardia, you should count your pulse and report the result to your obstetrician-gynecologist who leads the pregnancy.
Symptoms
Bearing a child is a significant physical and emotional load on the woman’s body, including the heart. A rapid heartbeat during pregnancy is usually a temporary phenomenon, and after childbirth everything passes without a trace, but such a condition can be a symptom of a severe cardiovascular disease.
If the following symptoms appear, then you should consult a doctor for consultation and additional examination:
- Chest pain.
- The heart beats, as if about to "jump out."
- Dizziness.
- Loss of sensation of limbs, numbness of arms or legs, even at rest.
- Fast fatiguability.
- Dyspnea.
- Short-term fainting.
The doctor should talk about his condition and describe all the symptoms that have been observed recently. He will prescribe the necessary tests and determine the course of treatment.
What is this diagnosis, and why do pregnant women have a rapid heartbeat?
What is this fraught with? A rapid heartbeat during pregnancy is an excessive number of heart beats per minute. Manifested due to excessive stress or disease. If there is mild tachycardia, then this is the norm during pregnancy, since the heart should provide blood flow to the uterus. If the pregnant woman feels that she has begun to work too rhythmically, the following actions should be taken:
- Sit down and relax, try to calm down.
- Do light gymnastics for pregnant women, yoga.
- Drink a glass of water.
These tips will allow your heartbeat to bounce back. But if such a condition is observed for a sufficiently long time and does not pass, you should consult a doctor, as well as avoid stressful situations and depressive states, communicate only with pleasant and positive people, often visit nature.
The main thing is to carefully monitor your health and the health of your baby.
In early pregnancy
The number of heartbeats per minute at rest in a woman is approximately 60-80. However, during pregnancy, the body begins to actively rebuild. Therefore, the heartbeat in the early stages of pregnancy is rapid and reaches about 120 beats or more. The reasons are hormonal changes and fast metabolic processes. During this period, the body needs much more vitamins, especially magnesium, a lack of which can provoke the development of tachycardia.
An increase in the rhythm of the heart in early pregnancy is observed very often, and mainly due to physical activity and stressful situations. You should eliminate annoying factors, as well as review your diet, eat more foods that are rich in magnesium and potassium (seafood, raisins, bananas, dried apricots).
Strong heartbeat
In the second trimester of pregnancy, a woman's body weight increases, and with it the load on the cardiovascular system increases. The rhythm of the heart can change dramatically, adapting to the baby. After all, all his organs and systems are already formed, and he is developing further. During this period, the baby needs nutrients and a sufficient amount of oxygen, which can cause a rapid heartbeat during pregnancy, in medicine this condition is called physiological tachycardia. This is a short-term change in the rhythm of the heartbeat, which does no harm to either the woman or the baby. After childbirth, as a rule, this pathology goes away on its own.
But you should pay attention to this factor and tell your doctor about it, especially if this condition is accompanied by other symptoms (nausea, vomiting, dizziness). Such concomitant symptoms may indicate a more severe pathology, such as heart disease, early or late toxicosis.
Palpitations and shortness of breath
During pregnancy, changes affect not only the cardiovascular system, but also the woman's respiratory system. Oxygen is required for both mother and baby for its normal formation and development. That is why the woman’s breathing efficiency increases, she breathes more often, and this leads to shortness of breath. But this does not mean oxygen starvation at all, just the lungs are limited by the chest and cannot expand anymore, due to physical reason. Shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat during pregnancy is a normal natural reaction of a woman's body to overload.
If shortness of breath occurs:
- Lie down and try to even out your breath.
- Try to do breathing exercises.
- Drink some water.
- Try to change the pose, as the growing fetus can put pressure on the lungs.
Diagnostics
During an interesting situation, a woman is limited in diagnostic methods, since they should be harmless, but also informative. One such method is electrocardiography. In the diagnosis of heartbeat can also be used:
- Ultrasound of the thyroid gland.
- Ultrasound of the heart.
- Blood test for hormones.
If a rapid heartbeat is observed very often, and the number of contractions is more than 120 beats per minute - all this leads to rapid depletion of the myocardium of the heart, and this will lead to serious complications.
Heart palpitations during pregnancy: what to do
So. If the heartbeat suddenly increases, the following recommendations should be followed:
- Ventilate the room.
- Lie down, cover your eyes.
- Drink some water.
- Turn on relaxing music, calm down and relax.
The heart rhythm should normalize, but the doctor should tell about it. In addition, you should pay attention to how often this repeats, what causes this condition. It is also necessary to measure the pulse in order to tell the doctor all the necessary information.
Henceforth, try not to be nervous, reduce the consumption of black tea and coffee.
Treatment
To get rid of unpleasant symptoms, you need to change your lifestyle:
- Organize the correct daily routine.
- Eat properly and rationally.
- Keep track of your weight.
- Refuse nicotine and alcohol.
- Limit coffee consumption.
- More to be in the fresh air.
In the early stages of pregnancy, the heartbeat is treated with drugs of medicinal origin based on mint, valerian, lemon balm, and chamomile. For example, Persen, Nova Passit. In addition, this ailment is successfully treated with infusions of herbs that strengthen the heart muscle: dogrose, hawthorn. In the later stages, a rapid heartbeat during pregnancy is treated with vitamin-mineral complexes, which include potassium and magnesium, as well as vitamin B and sedatives.
No need to self-medicate, even herbal tea can cause complications and lead to miscarriage.
Prevention
It’s always easier to prevent any disease than to treat it later. Heartbeat Prevention:
- Exclude alcohol and nicotine.
- Keep track of your weight.
- Avoid emotional and physical stress.
- Master yoga and meditation techniques.
- Observe sleep and wakefulness.
- Eat right.
- Do swimming and gymnastics for pregnant women.
- Drink plenty of water.
What are the forecasts?
Tachycardia in the early stages of pregnancy and in the second trimester is observed very often. A pregnant woman's condition can be improved with preventive measures. After childbirth, this condition will usually go away on its own, without affecting either the health of the mother or the baby.
Thus, a rapid heartbeat and pulse during pregnancy is not a pathology, but a natural course of the process of bearing a baby. But you should not relax. At the slightest discomfort, you must inform your doctor about this.