Heart Palpitations During Exercise? Here’s What to Know
Exercise naturally changes the way your heart beats. As your muscles require more oxygen, your heart rate increases to meet the demand. You may feel your heart beating harder or faster, especially during a challenging workout.
A flutter, skipped beat, or sudden pounding sensation, however, may leave you wondering whether what you are feeling is simply part of your body’s response to your workout or something worth discussing with your doctor.
Heart palpitations are common and often harmless, but those that develop during physical activity may warrant further evaluation depending on their frequency, duration, and any accompanying symptoms. Understanding what to pay attention to can help you decide when it is time to talk with your doctor.
Why might your heart flutter during a workout?
Heart palpitations can feel different from person to person. You may notice a fluttering sensation in your chest, feel as though your heart skipped a beat, or suddenly become aware that your heart is pounding or racing. These sensations can have a number of possible triggers, including exercise itself.
Physical activity increases your heart rate and stimulates the release of adrenaline, which can make changes in your heartbeat easier to notice. Other factors surrounding your workout can also play a role, including dehydration, caffeine, stress, certain medications or supplements, and changes in electrolyte levels.
Signs your heart palpitations may need medical attention
If you notice palpitations during exercise, pay attention to what they feel like, how long they last, and the circumstances in which they occur.
The symptoms that accompany palpitations also matter. Talk with your doctor if palpitations during exercise:
- Begin suddenly with a rapid or racing heartbeat
- Last for several minutes rather than a few seconds
- Become more frequent or noticeable as exercise intensity increases
- Occur with dizziness, lightheadedness, or feeling as though you may faint
- Occur with chest pain or pressure
- Occur with unusual shortness of breath
If you faint during exercise, seek immediate medical attention, even if you feel better shortly afterward. Palpitations accompanied by severe chest pain or significant difficulty breathing also require emergency medical care.
Details that can help your provider
Palpitations can be difficult to evaluate because they will have stopped by the time you see your doctor. Keeping track of your symptoms can provide useful information.
Make a note of what you were doing when the palpitations began, how intense your activity was, how long the episode lasted, and whether you experienced other symptoms. It can also be helpful to record factors like caffeine intake, hydration, and medications or supplements.
If you use a smartwatch or other wearable device that can record your heart rate, information captured during an episode may also be useful to your provider. Consumer wearables cannot replace a medical evaluation, but the information they collect may provide another piece of the picture.
Evaluating your heart rhythm
Depending on your symptoms and medical history, your provider may recommend testing to get a closer look at your heart rhythm. An electrocardiogram (EKG) records your heart’s electrical activity, but because palpitations can come and go, an irregular rhythm may not appear during a brief test in the office.
To monitor your heart over a longer period, your provider may recommend a portable heart monitor that can help capture an irregular rhythm when symptoms occur. If your palpitations are closely linked to physical activity, an exercise stress test can also show how your heart rate and rhythm respond as you exercise.
These tests can help determine what may be causing your palpitations and whether additional evaluation or treatment is needed.
Don’t ignore a change in your heart rhythm
An occasional flutter may be harmless, but a new or changing pattern of palpitations during exercise warrants attention. If something about your heartbeat feels different, especially when it happens repeatedly with physical activity, getting it evaluated can help you understand what is happening and what to do next.
The Heart Rhythm Institute at Oklahoma Heart Hospital provides comprehensive evaluation and treatment for heart rhythm disorders. If you are experiencing palpitations during exercise or have noticed a change in your heart rhythm, schedule an appointment with our team.