Is a pounding heart normal during pregnancy?
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Heart palpitations in pregnancy are very common. During pregnancy, the amount of blood in your body increases significantly. Your heart works harder to pump the extra blood throughout your body and to your baby. This extra work can result in heart palpitations.
What causes tachycardia during pregnancy?
Most tachycardia episodes are initiated by ectopic beats and the occurrence of arrhythmia episodes may therefore increase during pregnancy in line with the increased propensity to ectopic activity….Mechanism of arrhythmia.
| Structural heart disease | Structurally normal heart |
|---|---|
| • Acquired | • Acquired |
How does pregnancy affect your heart?
A healthy heart can deal with the extra blood and faster heartbeat that comes along with pregnancy, but if you had a heart condition before becoming pregnant, pregnancy can make it worse.
Can heart palpitations during pregnancy be dangerous?
Most of the time, heart palpitations do not lead to any complications during pregnancy . A healthy heart can deal with the extra blood and faster heartbeat that comes along with pregnancy, but if you had a heart condition before becoming pregnant, pregnancy can make it worse.
How can I prevent heart palpitations during pregnancy?
These strategies may help prevent palpitations: Don’t smoke, drink alcohol, or use drugs. Don’t take any new medicine without talking to your doctor first. Eat nutritiously and try to maintain a healthy weight to help prevent gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, conditions which can all exacerbate heart palpitations.
Why does my heart rate increase in the second trimester?
Because your body has extra blood, the heart has to pump faster to move this blood through. Your heart rate may increase by 10 to 20 extra beats per minute. In the second trimester, blood vessels in your body start to dilate or get bigger. This causes your blood pressure to lower slightly.