Palpitations of the heart are instances where you feel your heart pounding or racing and you may even have the sensation that your heart has skipped a beat or maybe even stopped beating for an unnatural amount of time. As with any heart irregularities, heart palpitations can be quite a nerve wracking experience, but is one of the most frequently reported symptoms of panic attacks. Almost 80% of the cases in which a person has suffered a panic attack cite rapid or irregular heart rates as a symptom. The occurrence of palpitations in no way signifies the existence of a heart condition, but does not mean that it should be completely ignored as it could be a very prominent symptom of another underlying medical condition. If you have recently or consistently experienced heart palpitations, you should immediately consult a licensed doctor to identify if there is some severe underlying medical ailment that needs to be treated. Heart palpitations may also include a rapid heart rate, tachycardia, a racing heart or heartbeat sensations. Palpitations may also be caused by a number of daily activities such as exercising, smoking, consummation of diet pills or even other medical complications like an overactive thyroid, medications, cocaine abuse, low levels of oxygen in the blood or hyperventilation.
Most of the time, successful home treatment of palpitations includes an entire lifestyle change. A strict, healthy diet with an emphasis on fresh fruits and either raw or lightly cooked vegetables will be beneficial. Substances like tea, coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, sugar and all white flour products should be conscientiously avoided. You should make it a point to indulge in only three meals during the course of the day with an intake of milk, fruits and nuts or seeds for breakfast, followed by steamed vegetables, whole wheat tortilla and a glass of buttermilk for lunch. For dinner you can have cottage cheese, green gram and fresh green vegetables. The herb Indian Spikenard is known to be considerably beneficial when dealing with heart palpitations and helps stimulate the action of the heart, take about three grams of the herb with an addition of a pinch of camphor and cinnamon for best results. A high intake of guava, eaten on an empty stomach is also especially beneficial for this condition. Honey is considered to be an excellent food when it comes to beating heart conditions as it is easily digested and assimilated. Drinking a glass of water with a tablespoon of honey and the juice from half a lemon before going to bed will do wonders.