Heart, Blood & Circulation
Heart Palpitations
Abnormally fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat most often caused by stimulants (caffeine, nicotine), anxiety, drug side effects, or weak heart valves. Calming herbs and eliminating stimulants resolve most cases.
Also known as: Heart palpitations, Irregular heartbeat (functional), Racing heart, Heart flutter, arrhythmia (definition: irregular heartbeat)
📝 At a glance
Likely root causes: Caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate, colas) -- the most common cause; Nicotine from tobacco; Anxiety, panic, and emotional stress.
First thing to try: Eliminate all caffeine (coffee, teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →, chocolate, colas), nicotine, and anxiety-producing circumstances. Take wild cherry bark tea or wild cherry syrupA sweet, thick herbal liquid that soothes the throat. How to make a syrup → as tea for nervous palpitations. Lemon juice in water has a sedative action on nervous palpitations.
See a doctor if: Palpitations with chest pain, fainting, or shortness of breath — call 911
🔎 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 →, chocolate, colas) -- the most common cause
- Nicotine from tobacco
- Anxiety, panic, and emotional stress
- Side effects of medicinal drugs
- Hyperthyroidism or over-medication for hypothyroidism
- Weak heart valves with poor tone
- High cholesterol causing sluggish blood flow
- Fever and excitement
Change what you can
- Eliminate all caffeine (coffee, teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →, chocolate, colas), nicotine, and anxiety-producing circumstances. Take wild cherry bark tea or wild cherry syrupA sweet, thick herbal liquid that soothes the throat. How to make a syrup → as tea for nervous palpitations. Lemon juice in water has a sedative action on nervous palpitations.
- For a weak heart or irregular beat: mix equal parts black cohosh, valerian, skullcap, and a pinch of cayenne, add 1 heaping tsp. to 1 cup boiling water, steep 30 minutes, drink 4 cups daily or a swallow every 2 hours.
- Herbal formula for a nervous heart: mix equal parts valerian root, lavender flowers, chamomile, and fennel, steep 2 tsp. in half cup boiling water, take 1-1.5 cups per day in small doses.
- Take hawthorn berry tonic and wheat germ oil for heart support. Motherwort is specific for palpitations. Take cayenne for overall heart strengthening.
🌿 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
This is usually the safest and most effective first step for occasional, otherwise benign palpitations.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Caffeine and nicotine can stimulate the heart and nervous system, and reducing them often lowers the frequency of palpitation episodes for many people.
- Track how much caffeine and nicotine you use in a typical day.
- Reduce coffee, tea, chocolate, and energy drinks gradually to avoid withdrawal headaches.
- Avoid nicotine products entirely where possible.
- Notice and note when palpitations occur in relation to what you ate or drank.
- Give the change 1-2 weeks before judging the effect.
1-2 weeks to notice a change · Ongoing daily habit
Caution: Reduce caffeine gradually — stopping abruptly can cause headaches and fatigue. A doctor should rule out thyroid problems, anemia, or heart rhythm issues if palpitations are frequent or new.
When to get help: Palpitations with fainting, chest pain, or severe shortness of breath need emergency care immediately.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia
Comments & experiences ▾
Also helps — ranked by the community (vote to reorder)
A calming warm bath and gentle stretching can help settle occasional nervous palpitations.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Warm water and slow movement can help relax the nervous system, which for some people lowers the intensity of stress-related palpitations.
- Take a warm (not hot) bath for 15-20 minutes in the evening.
- Follow with a few minutes of gentle stretching.
- Breathe slowly and deeply throughout.
- Avoid caffeine or stimulating activity right before or after.
- Notice whether this routine reduces how often palpitations occur over 1-2 weeks.
20-30 minutes · A few times a week or as needed
Caution: Avoid very hot water, which can itself sometimes trigger a racing heartbeat in sensitive people. See a doctor if palpitations are frequent, worsening, or accompanied by other symptoms.
When to get help: Palpitations with fainting, chest pain, or severe shortness of breath need emergency care immediately.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia
Comments & experiences ▾
Better sleep and a calm bedtime routine often reduce how often palpitations occur.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Poor sleep and stress activate the body's stress response, which can trigger a faster or irregular-feeling heartbeat in people prone to palpitations.
- Keep a consistent bedtime and wake time, even on weekends.
- Wind down for 30 minutes before bed without screens.
- Practice slow, deep breathing for a few minutes when you feel your heart racing.
- Limit stressful activities or news close to bedtime.
- Keep the bedroom cool, dark, and quiet.
20-30 minutes wind-down each night · Every night
Caution: Ongoing poor sleep with palpitations should be discussed with a doctor. This will not resolve palpitations caused by thyroid disease, anemia, or a heart rhythm disorder.
When to get help: Palpitations with fainting, chest pain, or severe shortness of breath need emergency care immediately.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia
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 chest pain, fainting, or shortness of breath — call 911
- Episodes with dizziness, or lasting more than a few minutes, need a doctor promptly
- New, frequent, or worsening palpitations deserve an exam and possibly an ECG
🌿 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 unpleasant awareness of an abnormally fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat. The most common causes are stimulants: caffeine (coffee, teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →, colas), nicotine, anxiety and panic, and side effects of medicinal drugs. Other causes include hyperthyroidism or over-dosage of hypothyroid medication, weak heart valves with poor tone, fever, high cholesterol causing sluggish blood flow, and general weakness of the body system. Most palpitations not associated with structural heart disease are benign and respond well to stimulant elimination and calming herbs.
Palpitations are the sensation of being aware of your own heartbeat — feeling it pound, race, flutter, or seem to skip or add beats. They are very common, and most of the time they are harmless, triggered by things like caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, stress and anxiety, lack of sleep, dehydration, exercise, or hormonal changes, and they settle once the trigger passes.
Reducing those triggers often helps a great deal: cutting back on caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol, managing stress with relaxation and good sleep, staying hydrated, and supporting heart health with a balanced diet and regular activity. Most occasional palpitations need no treatment beyond this. However, the pattern matters: palpitations that are frequent, prolonged, or come with chest pain, breathlessness, dizziness, or fainting should be medically evaluated, as they can occasionally reflect an arrhythmia or other heart condition. Palpitations with chest pain, severe breathlessness, or fainting are an emergency, and a doctor can help determine whether a rhythm is benign or needs treatment.
Common signs
- Awareness of a fast, pounding, or fluttering heartbeat
- Feeling that the heart 'skipped a beat' or is racing
- Occasional chest discomfort during episodes
- Anxiety or lightheadedness associated with the sensation
🍃 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.
Dehydration concentrates electrolytes and thickens blood, placing extra strain on the heart; drinking adequate water is one of the simplest preventive measures for palpitations.1000
Fatigue and sleep deprivation dramatically increase the risk of palpitations by elevating stress hormones; maintaining consistent, adequate sleep is one of the best preventive strategies.970
Slow, rhythmic breathing — inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4, exhale for 6 — activates the vagus nerve and can terminate or shorten a palpitation episode within minutes.940
Regular moderate walking strengthens the heart, improves vagal tone, and reduces the resting heart rate — all factors that decrease palpitation susceptibility.930
Low magnesium is one of the most common nutritional triggers of palpitations; eating leafy greens, pumpkin seeds, and almonds daily may help reduce their frequency for some people.870
Lemon balm has been used traditionally to calm a racing or fluttering heart; its mild sedative and antispasmodic properties help settle nervous palpitations quickly.850
A warm cup of chamomile tea calms the nervous system and reduces the tension and anxiety that commonly trigger or worsen palpitations.850
Passionflower's flavonoids have demonstrated mild antiarrhythmic properties and powerfully calm the anxiety that often accompanies and perpetuates palpitation episodes.820
Inhaling lavender essential oil or applying it to the pulse points during a palpitation episode can calm sympathetic nervous system activity and help normalize heart rhythm.810
Hawthorn standardized extract helps regulate heart rhythm, reduces palpitation frequency, and strengthens overall cardiac function with a solid evidence base.780
Valerian calms the nervous system stimulation that often underlies stress-triggered palpitations and promotes the deeper sleep that supports heart rhythm stability.780
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.
Eliminate caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and all stimulants completely. Eat a whole-food, low-cholesterol vegetarian diet. Reduce stress at meals.
⚖️ Good to know
- Palpitations accompanied by chest pain, fainting, severe shortness of breath, or persistent racing heart (lasting more than a few minutes) may indicate a serious cardiac arrhythmia requiring medical evaluation.
- A physician should rule out structural heart disease, thyroid problems, or drug-induced causes before assuming palpitations are benign.
⚕️ 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.
Palpitations are usually benign, but when caused by an underlying arrhythmia, conventional treatment targets that arrhythmia through medication, procedures, or lifestyle modification.
Commonly offered
- Identifying and eliminating triggers (caffeine, alcohol, stimulants)–
- Beta-blockers for frequent symptomatic palpitations–
- Antiarrhythmic medications for documented arrhythmias–
- Catheter ablation for SVT, atrial flutter, or atrial fibrillation–
- Pacemaker or ICD for serious rhythm disorders–
- Treating thyroid disease or electrolyte imbalances if they are the cause–
👍/👎 shares whether a treatment helped you — community experience, not medical advice. For full professional details, see the sources under “Learn more” below.
📚 Learn more
Sources for further reading. These open in a new tab.
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