Heart, Blood & Circulation
Heart Palpitations
An awareness of an abnormally fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat — often triggered by caffeine, anxiety, or weak heart tone.
Also known as: Racing heart, Skipped beats, Heart fluttering, palpitations (definition: sensation of rapid or irregular heartbeat), arrhythmia (definition: irregular heartbeat)
📝 At a glance
Likely root 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
🔎 Start with the cause
Lasting relief rarely comes from covering a symptom. First find what is feeding the problem, change what you can, and then help the body do what it was designed to do — heal.
Likely root causes
- Caffeine (coffee, teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →, cola, chocolate)
- Nicotine
- Anxiety and emotional stress
- Medication side effects
- Hyperthyroidism
- Weak heart valves from poor tone
- Fever or excitement
Change what you can
- 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, 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.
- Caution: lily of the valley contains cardiac glycosides similar to digoxin and must never be self-administered — it can cause dangerous heart rhythm changes and requires medical supervision.
🌿 Then assist nature: remedies & protocols
With the cause being addressed, these are the actual things people do for this — ranked by the community. Vote ▲ on what helped you and ▼ on what didn't, and open How to do it for the steps. Each shows two quick signals: Evidence (how much science backs it) and Gentleness (how safe and in keeping with whole, natural health).
★ Start here — our first-line pick, pinned for safety
Removing stimulants is the first and most effective step for benign palpitations.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol overstimulate the heart's electrical rhythm. Eliminating them removes the trigger for most benign palpitations, often settling the heart on its own.
- Stop all coffee, strong tea, cola, energy drinks, and chocolate.
- Stop tobacco and nicotine products.
- Avoid alcohol.
- Taper caffeine over a few days to avoid withdrawal headaches.
- Notice whether palpitations settle once stimulants are gone.
Ongoing · Every day
Caution: Palpitations with chest pain, fainting, or breathlessness are not benign - seek care. Taper caffeine gradually to avoid headaches.
When to get help: Palpitations with chest pain, fainting, severe breathlessness, or that don't stop need urgent medical care.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
Also helps — ranked by the community (vote to reorder)
Helps calm anxious or excitement-driven palpitations.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Slow breathing and gentle vagal techniques raise calming parasympathetic tone, which can slow a racing or fluttering heart driven by anxiety or excitement.
- Sit down and stop any exertion.
- Breathe in slowly through the nose for about 4 counts.
- Breathe out gently for about 6 counts.
- Continue for several minutes, relaxing the shoulders.
- If taught by a clinician, you may add gentle vagal maneuvers.
3-5 minutes · As needed during an episode
Caution: Do not perform forceful straining maneuvers without medical instruction. If an episode is prolonged or comes with chest pain or fainting, seek care.
When to get help: An episode with fainting, chest pain, or that lasts a long time needs emergency assessment.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
For nervous, stress-linked palpitations.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: These gentle nervine herbs are traditionally used to ease the anxiety and nervous tension that often set off harmless palpitations.
- Mix equal parts of the dried herbs.
- Steep about 2 teaspoons in half a cup of just-boiled water for 10 minutes.
- Strain and sip slowly.
- Use through the day during stressful periods.
Sip over the day · Up to a few cups daily
Caution: Valerian can cause drowsiness - avoid before driving. Avoid herbal sedatives with sedative medicines or in pregnancy without advice. Does not treat heart rhythm disorders - get those evaluated.
When to get help: Persistent palpitations or those with chest pain or fainting need medical evaluation.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
How the numbers work: a weighted voting system — trusted published sources cast endorsement votes for each protocol, and your ▲/▼ adds to them. Not medical advice.
🩺 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
🌿 The seven pathways to health
Seven pathways for your heart palpitations — tap the circle to check one off (saved on your device), or ask Remy for help.
“Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health... In case of sickness 1cause should be ascertained, 2go to work intelligently to remove the disease. 3Unhealthful conditions should be changed, 4wrong habits corrected. 5Then nature is to be assisted in her effort 6to expel impurities and 7to re-establish right conditions in the system.”
🌿 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
🍃 Supporting foods & habits
The gentle, everyday foods and supports that help in the background — secondary to the active remedies above. Vote on what helped you.
Stay hydrated and keep electrolytes balanced, since dehydration commonly triggers palpitations.1000
Slow breathing can calm a fluttering heart from stress or anxiety (frequent or severe palpitations need a check).940
A hedgerow berry and flower, taken as tea or extract, traditionally treasured as a gentle tonic for the heart and circulation.780
A little cayenne is traditionally used to support circulation, though cut back on stimulants like caffeine first.700
A calming herb traditionally used to support restful sleep and ease anxious tension.620
How the numbers work: this is a weighted voting system — every published book or article recommending a remedy counts as an endorsement vote, and your ▲/▼ counts too. Not medical advice. *Ties are broken by our editor score (sources, safety, simplicity, cost, lifestyle fit, eight-laws alignment).
🍽️ 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.
⚕️ What a doctor may offerConventional treatments for this condition — for your information.Show ▾
RemedyRank's heart is natural healing — and honest information. Here is what conventional medical care commonly involves for this condition, listed to inform, never to promote. Decisions about treatment belong with you and your own physician.
Most palpitations are benign; conventional care rules out a heart-rhythm problem.
Commonly offered
- Reducing caffeine, alcohol, stress, and stimulants–
- Monitoring (ECG or a wearable monitor) if frequent–
- Treating any underlying cause (thyroid, anemia, arrhythmia)–
- Medication or procedures for confirmed arrhythmias–
Worth knowing
- Palpitations with chest pain, fainting, or severe breathlessness need urgent care.
- Frequent or prolonged episodes deserve a heart-rhythm check.
- Some medicines and supplements trigger palpitations.
👍/👎 shares whether a treatment helped you — community experience, not medical advice. For full professional details, see the sources under “Learn more” below.
📜 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
Sources for further reading. These open in a new tab.
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