Heart Palpitations After Eating

The condition of heart palpitations after eating is where a person feels that his heart is 'racing' or 'fluttering' after a meal. This may be felt immediately after a meal, or might even start while the person is eating. It is a common complaint seen in overweight people, and sometimes in recovering anorexic patients.

Why is Heart Palpitations after Eating Normal?
After having a meal, the heart needs to pump more blood to the stomach and adjoining areas. Thus, it needs to bring about an increase in the blood supply to stomach, so as to assist the process of digestion. This is important, since increased blood flow in abdominal region immediately after a meal helps in the digestion and assimilation of food. Hence, for some people, this routine activity of heart could manifest as palpitations.

Symptoms that may Accompany Heart Palpitations after Eating
Following are some of the symptoms associated with palpitations that occur after eating:

• Along with palpitations, a person may complain of nausea after eating
• Dizziness after eating
• Fatigue after eating may be mild in nature, or a person may feel severe exhaustion.
• Chest pain after eating.
• Feeling of tightness and soreness in chest.
• Excessive yawning
• Sweating and restlessness
• Discomfort in abdominal region and stomach palpitations.
• Inability to sleep peacefully at night, immediately after dinner
• Shortness of breath

Causes of Heart Palpitations after Eating
There could be a variety of causes behind heart palpitations after eating. The different causes range from psychological palpitations to those induced by hormonal fluctuations. Here is a list of possible causes of heart palpitations after eating:

Sudden Consumption of Food after Staying Hungry for Long: A vicious cycle is generated when a person is hungry for long and then suddenly binges on food. This is often seen in patients suffering from anorexia nervosa. Sudden binging causes rapid increase in the blood sugar level, leading to cardiac arrhythmia, followed by a chain of reactions that culminate in heart palpitations after eating. These reactions can be depicted through the flow chart presented below:

Severe hunger and low blood sugar
↓
Sudden intake of food
↓
Blood sugar rises rapidly
↓
Excessive secretion of insulin
↓
Fluttering of heart (cardiac arrhythmia)
↓
Lowering of blood sugar
↓
Secretion of adrenaline
↓
Heart palpitations after eating

Hormonal Imbalance: One of the possible causes of heart palpitations after eating is hormonal imbalance. The hormonal imbalance in young women is often a cause for palpitations. In fact, any kind of hormonal imbalance, irrespective of how minor it may be, could wreak havoc in our body. People suffering from hyperthyroidism are especially at an increased risk of suffering from palpitations after a meal.

Hiatal Hernia: Hiatal hernia is a condition where a portion of stomach protrudes into the chest through the diaphragm. It is often associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This hiatal hernia, coupled with acid reflux disease, often leads to chest pain that is similar to angina and may even lead to heart palpitations.

Obesity: Often, an overweight person, who has a diet high in sugar and caffeine and who leads a sedentary lifestyle, may show symptoms like heart palpitations after eating. This is because, in people suffering from obesity, the heart has to work extra hard to pump the blood to the stomach. Also, sometimes these people may complain of radiating pain in their left arm, in which case he or she should get a check-up done immediately, as this may be indicative of a more serious underlying illness.

Severe Anemia: Severely anemic people, whose hemoglobin levels are very low and whose ferritin count is low, have an increased risk of experiencing heart palpitations after eating. This symptom is often accompanied by fatigue and extreme weakness.

Stress and Anxiety: One of the most common culprits responsible for a variety of diseases, excessive stress and anxiety may lead to palpitations. Stress can manifest itself in many ways, and patients complaining of heart palpitations after eating often exhibit other symptoms like chest pain, abdominal pain, fatigue etc. that accompany palpitations.

Treatment of Heart Palpitations after Eating
Although there is no universal treatment for heart palpitations after eating, there are certain guidelines that one can follow to help prevent this problem keep the heart health in good condition.

• Eating moderate amounts of food at regular intervals is a much smarter option than eating one meal in the morning and then starving oneself for the remaining half of the day. Regular meals in small portions help energize the body on a timely basis and thus, prevent any sudden spurt of hormonal activity that may cause irregularities in the functioning of heart.
• For women it is best to get a regular check-up done to lookout for hormone levels and to check on iron levels in the body. Females are at an added risk of suffering from anemia and thyroid irregularities.
• One should try cutting down on sugars and coffee if he or she is obese. Also, a bit of exercise on a regular basis goes a long way in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
• As cliched as it may sound, living a stress-free life is the key to enjoying good health, peace and longevity. One can keep a number of diseases at bay, simply by eliminating the stress factor. Use of breathing techniques should prove to be helpful in reducing stress and in improving the overall health.
• If the palpitation symptoms worsen with time, it is best to get a full cardiac scan done using a holter monitor, along with running a few necessary tests recommended by your physician, because after all, taking care of your heart health should always be he priority.

Thus, to keep the problem of heart palpitations after eating at bay, ensure that you follow a healthy lifestyle, with a good and nutritious diet that is supplemented by regular exercise.