Heart, Blood & Circulation
Heart Palpitations
An awareness of an abnormally fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat — often triggered by caffeine, anxiety, or weak heart tone.
📝 Summary
In short: An awareness of an abnormally fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat — often triggered by caffeine, anxiety, or weak heart tone.
Common causes: Caffeine (coffee, tea, cola, chocolate); Nicotine; Anxiety and emotional stress.
First thing to try: Wild cherry bark teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea → or syrupA sweet, thick herbal liquid that soothes the throat. How to make a syrup → calms nervous palpitations.
See a doctor if: Palpitations with fainting or near-fainting
🌿 Overview
Heart palpitations are the uncomfortable sensation of your heartbeat — whether it pounds, races, flutters, or seems to skip beats. They are most commonly caused by caffeine, anxiety, nicotine, or a weak heart. Herbs like valerian, motherwort, and hawthorn help calm the heart.
Palpitations can feel like the heart is pounding, racing, fluttering, or skipping beats. They are most often caused by stimulants or anxiety, and are generally harmless — but they can also indicate hyperthyroidism, weak heart valves, or a more serious arrhythmia. Natural remedies focus on calming herbs, eliminating stimulants, and supporting the heart with cayenne and hawthorn.
Common signs
- Rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Heart flutter or pounding
- Feeling of missed or skipped beats
- Chest discomfort
- Dizziness or faintness in more serious cases
🔎 Why it happens
Common causes and triggers — spotting yours is often the first step to relief.
- Caffeine (coffee, tea, cola, chocolate)
- Nicotine
- Anxiety and emotional stress
- Medication side effects
- Hyperthyroidism
- Weak heart valves from poor tone
- Fever or excitement
✅ What to do
Gentle, practical steps you can take at home — start at the top.
- Wild cherry bark teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea → or syrupA sweet, thick herbal liquid that soothes the throat. How to make a syrup → calms nervous palpitations.
- Lemon juice with water has sedative action on nervous palpitations.
- Mix valerian root, lavender flowers, chamomile, and fennel; steep 2 tsp. in half-cup boiling water; sip through the day.
- Black cohosh, lobelia, skullcap, valerian, and a pinch of cayenne: 1 tsp. per cup, 4 cups daily, for weak or irregular heart.
- Take cayenne, wheat germ oil, and hawthorn berry tonic.
- Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) slows rapid heartbeat.
- Eliminate all caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol immediately.
- Lily of the valley teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea → is specifically good for heart palpitations.
⭐ Community-ranked natural supports
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Stay hydrated and keep electrolytes balanced, since dehydration commonly triggers palpitations.100461
Crowd feedback, not medical advice — in this preview your vote is saved on your device. *Ties are broken by our editor score (sources, safety, simplicity, cost, lifestyle fit).
📊 Compare these remedies side by side
Our editor score weighs sources, safety, simplicity, cost, and lifestyle fit. Source endorsements tally how many books and studies reference each remedy. A higher number isn't a promise — it's just a starting point.
| Remedy | Type | Editor score | Source endorsements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water & Hydration | Therapy | 100 | 461 |
| Rest & Sleep | Practice | 97 | 375 |
| Deep Breathing & Prayer | Practice | 93 | 288 |
| Garlic | Food | 85 | 244 |
| Cayenne Pepper | Herb | 68 | 109 |
🍽️ Eating to help
Food is one of the gentlest medicines — small, steady changes help most.
Favor these
- Hawthorn berry preparations
- Magnesium-rich foods: nuts, seeds, leafy greens, whole grains
- Potassium-rich foods
- Herbal calming teas: valerian, chamomile, lavender
Go easy on
- All caffeine — coffee, tea, soda, chocolate
- Alcohol
- Tobacco in any form
- Heavy meals, especially in the evening
Eliminating stimulants often resolves palpitations within days.
⚖️ Good to know
- Palpitations with chest pain, fainting, or shortness of breath may indicate a serious arrhythmia.
- A very fast regular pulse needs medical evaluation.
- Thyroid disease as a cause requires specific treatment.
🩺 When to see a doctor
- Palpitations with fainting or near-fainting
- Chest pain or pressure with palpitations
- Palpitations that are regular and very fast (over 150 bpm)
- New palpitations after age 50
📜 A note from history
Wild cherry bark, valerian, lily of the valley, and motherwort have been used for centuries for nervous heart conditions. Jethro Kloss personally healed himself of a weak heart using herbal formulas.
📚 Learn more
Trusted, independent sources for further reading. These open in a new tab.
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