Tachycardia itself (a frequent heartbeat) is not considered a disease, but is a symptom of the development of other pathologies. There are many reasons why a heartbeat becomes faster after eating. And first of all, if you notice such a symptom, you need to see a doctor to diagnose the disease.
Why does a heartbeat increase after a meal and a heart rhythm breaks?
In most cases, a rapid heartbeat appears from overeating, because it creates an additional burden on the heart. This is comparable to mild abdominal pain after eating too much. Heavy, salty, high-calorie food also carries an increased load, causing discomfort in the gastrointestinal tract and, as a result, heart palpitations. Why does a heartbeat increase after a meal if the food taken does not have the above qualities?
There are many other serious causes for this symptom:
- Obesity. Failures of the endocrine system due to obesity greatly affect the functioning of the heart, which affects the heart rate.
- Heart diseases. Almost all heart diseases, for example, ischemia, are accompanied by heart palpitations. With a heart attack, the work of the heart muscle changes, which increases the load on it.
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Due to improper assimilation of products, part of the food begins to put pressure on the diaphragm, which creates a rapid heart rate.
- Diseases of the nervous system. The nervous and cardiovascular systems are directly related to each other, and failures in one immediately affect the second. So why does a heartbeat increase after eating? Most likely, this is due to the mild excitability of the nervous system.
- Thyroid disease. The thyroid gland is responsible for many processes in the body, and any malfunction in its work affects primarily the pulse. The longer the disease lasts, the more often tachycardia depends on food intake.
- Infectious diseases. If the infection is not treated properly, tachycardia becomes a common symptom until the infection is completely cured.
- Diabetes.
- Side effect of drugs. A common side effect of many medications is heart palpitations.
Additional symptoms associated with tachycardia
Due to the fact that a rapid heartbeat affects the functioning of the whole organism, the symptoms accompanying tachycardia are observed:
- Nausea.
- Pain in the chest.
- Loss of consciousness.
- Dizziness.
- Fear and anxiety.
- Feeling tired.
- Yawn.
Why does a heartbeat increase after eating and shortness of breath occurs? The cause of shortness of breath with a rapid heartbeat is one - lack of oxygen.
Heart rate
A heart beat, namely the ejection of blood from the heart into the vessels, is called a pulse. It is not the same throughout life, for example, in newborns, 140 beats per minute are considered the norm. And in a healthy adult, it is considered to be the norm from 60 to 80 beats per minute in a calm state, that is, a little more often than one hit per second. The pulse varies depending on the load on the heart muscle, for example, during physical exertion, humidity, temperature, pressure and so on.
You can measure the pulse by applying the index and middle or thumb on the inside of the wrist just below the fold of the palm.
Blood pressure and tachycardia
Why does heart palpitations and blood pressure increase after eating? An increase in pressure can provoke food intake, which contributes to blood thickening. For instance:
- Spices and salt help retain fluid in the body. Because of this, blood pressure rises and tachycardia appears.
- Eating too little fiber. Fiber is able to accelerate and thin the blood, and its lack leads to thickening of the blood.
- Coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate (black) provoke an increase in pressure and, as a result, an increase in heart rhythms.
However, sometimes a different situation is observed when a person is worried about hypotension. Why does heart palpitations and blood pressure drop after eating? Due to the diseases listed above, tachycardia may occur, as a result of which the heart muscle works in an enhanced mode, and the heart ventricles do not receive enough blood, due to which there is a decrease in pressure against the background of a rapid heartbeat.
Headaches and tachycardia
Why does heart palpitations and headaches hurt after eating? Tachycardia itself can cause a headache due to a lack of oxygen, which is poorly delivered with a small amount of blood in tachycardia. Hence the answer to the question why, after eating, the heartbeat becomes more frequent. Dizziness in this case is a concomitant additional symptom.
The relationship of tachycardia with vegetovascular dystonia
Tachycardia is the first symptom in vegetovascular dystonia. However, a frequent pulse is not always related to heart disease.
Why does a heartbeat increase after a meal and a heart rhythm breaks? Is this possible due to vegetovascular dystonia? Yes. The fact is that after eating various hormones are produced that can affect the hormonal system, which causes a spike in the IRR. People suffering from VVD have a rapid heartbeat when:
- A sharp change of weather is coming.
- Dramatically changes the position of the body.
- Caffeinated drinks are consumed.
- Even mild stress or nervous tension is experienced.
- Fear is felt.
Knowing their diagnosis, people subconsciously cause a jump in the pulse, but a heart palpitations with VVD does not lead to a heart attack, provided a healthy heart.
To the question why after eating, the heartbeat increases with VSD, it can be answered that when food is ingested, and especially when overeating, the body experiences mild stress, which provokes the occurrence of tachycardia.
Tachycardia in expectant mothers
Why do pregnant women get heartbeats after eating? During pregnancy, the load on all internal organs doubles. When eating, the load on the gastrointestinal tract, heart and other organs increases even more. Therefore, a rapid heartbeat is an almost constant symptom after meals in women in an interesting position.
What do persistent attacks of tachycardia lead to?
Rapid heart rhythm alone cannot lead to death, but constant tachycardia wears out the heart muscles, which prevents the delivery of oxygen to all internal organs in full. With oxygen starvation, exhaustion and a pathological change in the internal organs occur.
Tachycardia Prevention
In order for the rapid heartbeat not to disturb or create unpleasant sensations, some rules should be observed. Namely:
- Daily regime. Subject to the regime of day and night, the body manages to restore its strength and energy spent during the day. Thanks to this, the nervous system is in a calm state, internal organs are ready for a new day. The internal state is relaxed.
- Balanced diet. With the right ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, the gastrointestinal tract easily assimilates food without causing discomfort to other digestive organs. Refusing too salty, smoked, fried and fatty foods helps to keep organs in good condition. Since everything is interconnected in the body, the gastrointestinal tract, working properly, does not have a negative effect on the heart.
- Refusal of stimulating drinks. Energy drinks are just aimed at enhancing the functioning of the nervous system, which gives a signal to the heart to accelerate its work. Even a single use of such drinks can cause an increased heartbeat.
- Refusal of alcohol. Alcohol has a toxic effect on the heart muscles, and in large doses causes a narrowing of the blood vessels of the circulatory system. Frequent drinking of alcohol leads to a change in the size of the heart, weakening of the working valves.
- Moderate physical activity. In order not to experience tachycardia, take as a basis the methods of strengthening the body as a whole. Morning exercises are aimed at starting up the body and warming up organs for the next day. Evening gymnastics is aimed at calming the nervous system, maintaining a healthy and sound sleep. Physical activity improves the body's ability, promotes endurance, protects the nervous system from stress, strengthens blood vessels and heart.
- Good emotional and mental state. A calm and slightly relaxed state normalizes hormonal balance, improving the functioning of the whole organism. With the help of meditative techniques, you can significantly improve the emotional background and easier to deal with stress.
- Stay in the great outdoors. Being in nature, we especially feel how we are filled with strength, and all this thanks to the fresh air with lots of oxygen. Oxygen nourishes body tissues, enhancing blood circulation and tissue regeneration, which is also beneficial for the heart muscle.
Products that reduce tachycardia and cardiac arrhythmias
In nature, there are products that can calm heart rhythms without any side effects:
- Greens (parsley, dill, chives, cilantro).
- Fresh vegetables (radish, eggplant, radish, tomato, cabbage, carrots, cucumber).
- Fruits (orange, mandarin, grapes, peaches, plums, dates).
- Nuts (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, peanuts).
- Dried fruits (raisins, dried apricots, prunes).
- Sea fish.
- Meat broth (chicken, veal, beef, pork, turkey).
- Porridge (oat, buckwheat, corn, pearl barley, barley).
- Sour-milk products (kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt, sourdough, bifidok, cottage cheese, yogurt).
Products not recommended for tachycardia
The following is a list of products that worsen the condition of the heart and negatively affect the whole body. In case of violations of one organ, the whole body suffers, therefore, harmful products that cause tachycardia will be considered harmful to all organs:
- Alcohol.
- The eggs.
- Sour cream.
- Spices (different varieties of pepper).
- Mushrooms.
- Various smoked meats.
- Bakery products.
- Chocolate in any form.
- Strong coffee and tea.
- Products containing high fat content.
- Salt and salted foods and dishes.
Why does a heartbeat quicken and a rhythm break after a meal? There are a lot of reasons, and the first thing is to consult a specialist who, having diagnosed the problem, will select the necessary treatment.