Heart palpitations at night feel like your heart is racing, pounding heavily, or skipping beats.
They can keep you up or start during sleep, waking you and interrupting rest.
While it can be disruptive, this sensation is often benign (not harmful).
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Less commonly, this symptom is a sign of a more serious health issue or problem with the heart.
Additional causes include:
What Medications Can Cause Heart Palpitations at Night?
Medications can also lead to palpitations, sometimes due to their effect on heart rhythm.
Many people feel symptoms in their chest, neck, or throat.
They can be a sign of arrhythmia but also arise due to causes unrelated to the heart.
Primary care physicians can diagnose the underlying cause of heart palpitations.
If they suspect an anxiety disorder, you may need a psychiatric evaluation.
In cases linked to serious heart arrhythmia, you may need treatments to correct your heart rhythm.
Treatment may involve electrical therapies to change heart activity, known ascardioversionor defibrillation.
Devices called pacemakers can also treat arrhythmia and manage related palpitations.
Surgeons implant these small devices just under the skin, near the heart.
They deliver electrical signals to the nodes of the heart, which regulate its activity.
Lifestyle changes and changing sleep positions can help you manage nighttime palpitations.
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