This is Dr. Lam, founder of DrLam.com and the Adrenal Fatigue Center.
A very frequent question that I’m exposed to, among adrenal fatigue sufferers is,
why would they have palpitations in the heart, as well as, the sensation of the heart pounding.
This is often exaggerated during exercise or even at rest from time to time.
The causes of palpitations are many.
Most frequently, we think of it as a cardiac event.
Indeed it is.
But there are many, many reasons that cause the heart to palpitate abnormally.
Now remember, when the heart is beating normally, you don’t feel it.
It is an automatic event.
So the fact that you can even feel the heart either beating harder, pounding, or irregular
or dropping beat, means that there is an abnormal sequencing that is going on.
This process is commonly experienced the more advanced the person is in adrenal fatigue
and for good reasons.
Now let’s take a step back.
When a person has adrenal fatigue, the body’s ability to manufacture cortisol to overcome
stress-related demands are reduced.
When this happens over a period of time and the body is unable to compensate, then eventually
the body feels that it is in danger or survival.
When this happens, the body then activates the flight or fight response and commonly,
the hormones responsible for this is norepinephrine as well as epinephrine.
Epinephrine is also commonly called adrenaline.
When these two hormones are released, first the noradrenaline comes off in the brain and
it stays around in the brain as a neurotransmitter causing us to be alert.
It also goes to the peripheral circulation.
It goes to the heart and causes a pounding sensation.
It’s for a good reason.
It’s designed to help the body prepare for running away in the time of stress.
Remember also there’s another hormone called epinephrine and this is released from the
adrenal glands under the direction of the HPA hormonal axis.
When epinephrine comes out, it goes to the muscles, helps the gut, helps the heart beat
in order to carry out the physical running away activities.
When you want to run away from stress, as our ancestors had to in the old times, your
heart has to beat fast.
When your heart has to beat fast, sometimes it is not used to it and you can have palpitations.
This is a very common event.
There are many structural cardiac problems that can also cause palpitations.
You have to be careful.
The first thing you have to do, if you do experience this type of event, is to see a regular doctor
and make sure that your heart doesn’t have any problems such as congestive heart failure,
node problems, and other structural problems that can be the reason.
Metabolic problems, as well as, anemia can also be problematic as well as thyroid imbalances.
If your body is all checked out and your doctor tells you that everything is fine and you
feel palpitations especially during exercise, then it’s important to think outside the
box and see what are the possible other reasons.
When your heart is normal, then you have to look for causes that are giving the command
signal to the heart for it to palpitate.
Oftentimes you will find, if you are in a very stressful situation, that there may be adrenal
fatigue involved.
Adrenal fatigue is not recognized by conventional medicine as yet because it is quite convoluted.
A class of symptoms oftentimes can defy medical logic.
But if you really understand the physiology of how the adrenal is responsible for controlling
stress and how it can relate to the heart and causes palpitations, then you will be
able to slowly trace through the situation.
Palpitations, if it is from an adrenal perspective, is actually a warning sign.
It is the body’s warning to you that the heart is under pressure to perform certain
functions.
This is part, in partial, of the exercise, so to say, that the body goes through.
You should not be overly concerned once everything has been checked up by your cardiologist.
But take the time to really understand adrenal fatigue and you will find there’s good reason
for the heart to behave the way it does.
Take some time, do it slow, and learn because ultimately, that’s going to help you understand.
Once you understand, you will not be held hostage by these palpitations when it’s
not cardiac related.