Palpitations During Pregnancy — What's Normal?

You expected pregnancy to bring a wide range of changes your way. Many women brace for swelling feet or unusual food cravings, for example. But pregnancy can bring other new sensations into your life, ones that are less talked about.

Case in point: it’s relatively common to experience heart palpitations when you’re pregnant.  

If you’ve been feeling like your heart is fluttering or skipping a beat, it’s probably nothing to worry about. Still, seeing a palpitations specialist like David Bolon, MD, might help to ease your mind. 

You can visit our team at Manhattan Integrative Cardiovascular in Midtown East Manhattan, New York City. Here, we can discuss what your palpitations feel like and how frequently you’re experiencing them to determine whether they’re cause for concern. 

Why women get heart palpitations when pregnant

While you’re pregnant, the amount of blood in your body increases. Your heart works harder to pump all of that blood through your system and to your growing baby. The palpitations are a symptom of that extra effort. 

Palpitations get increasingly common during the third trimester when about 20% of the blood in your body goes to your uterus. 

On top of this, certain medications, along with herbal and nutritional supplements, can contribute to heart palpitations. Something you started taking during pregnancy could be playing a role in your palpitations. 

Minimizing palpitations during pregnancy

While heart palpitations are common during pregnancy, many women find them uncomfortable or bothersome. Fortunately, you can take some steps to minimize that fluttering heartbeat. Those include:

• Minimizing caffeine intake
• Drinking plenty of water
• Getting sufficient electrolytes
• Deploying breathing techniques to reduce stress 

As a palpitation specialist, Dr. Bolon can help you develop a plan to make pregnancy-safe lifestyle changes that reduce your likelihood of experiencing palpitations. He can also help you determine if any medications or supplements could be behind your irregular heartbeat. 

When to seek medical care for palpitations

Tell your doctor about your heart palpitations so they can monitor them. These irregular heartbeats usually don’t require treatment and go away after pregnancy. 

That said, you might need additional care to protect your heart. In some cases, palpitations indicate a non-pregnancy-related condition, like arrhythmia. Coming up against this type of issue is more common if you had heart problems before you got pregnant.

Dr. Bolon has a range of diagnostic tools to determine what’s going on with your heart and if you need any treatment to stabilize your heartbeat. If so, he works with you to find a safe option for you and your baby. For example, if you have an arrhythmia, he can use a timed electrical current (cardioversion) to get your heartbeat to a healthy cadence. Cardioversion is considered safe during pregnancy. 

Heart palpitations are a normal part of pregnancy. But if you’re worried about them or have a history of heart issues, don’t hesitate to call our team at (716) 303-4738 or book your appointment online today.