Yes, stress can absolutely make your heart feel weird, causing sensations like racing, fluttering, pounding, or skipping beats (palpitations) due to the release of stress hormones that trigger the body's "fight-or-flight" response, though these feelings are usually harmless but can sometimes signal serious issues like arrhythmias or stress-induced cardiomyopathy, so medical evaluation is important if symptoms are severe or persistent.
“When stress hormones are elevated, your blood pressure may rise and you may feel heart palpitations, a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, or even chest pain. In extreme cases, stress can also cause the heart to temporarily weaken, a condition called stress-induced cardiomyopathy.”
Stress or anxiety can have physical effects, including the sensation that your heart is fluttering or racing. As a cardiac electrophysiologist — a doctor who specializes in heart rhythm problems — I know that those common stress symptoms may also be signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib), a heart rhythm disorder.
Symptoms
Heart-healthy drinks (other than water)
The difference is that, when extra heartbeats in the upper and lower chambers are the cause of abnormal rhythm, symptoms may feel like an initial skip or hard thumping beat followed by a racing heart. When anxiety is the trigger, heart rate typically increases steadily rather than suddenly.
Simple breathing exercises can help with anxiety, such as taking slow, deeper breaths can calm the body's stress response. Mindfulness and meditation can be helpful ways to cope with anxiety. If self-help treatments aren't enough, other treatments are available.
Yes, a weak heart can often become stronger or significantly improve with consistent effort, involving a doctor-guided plan with regular exercise, a heart-healthy diet (low sodium), medications, stress management, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol, and managing other conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes to improve heart function and quality of life.
Studies suggest that the high levels of cortisol from long-term stress can increase blood cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure. These are common risk factors for heart disease. This stress can also cause changes that promote the buildup of plaque deposits in the arteries.
Supplement options
Although further studies are needed, vitamin D deficiency has been linked to anxiety and depression. Supplements may help manage symptoms of stress and anxiety in those who are deficient. Vitamin B complex supplements may also help lower stress and anxiety levels.
A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety — for example, a death in the family, work stress or ongoing worry about finances. Personality. People with certain personality types are more prone to anxiety disorders than others are.
If you've been stuck in the anxiety loop, it doesn't mean something is wrong with you. It means your brain is doing exactly what it was designed to do, just a little too well. The shift comes when we start to work with the brain instead of against it. And that starts with understanding anxiety inside out.
Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire
The CAQ (Eifert, Thompson, et al., 2000) is an 18-item self-report inventory scored on a five-point Likert-type scale, anchored from 0 (never) to 4 (always). Higher scores on this measure indicate greater cardiac anxiety (no reversed scored items).
Chest discomfort can be alarming, especially when it strikes out of the blue during moments of stress or rest. Many people wonder: can anxiety cause chest pain? The short answer is yes, anxiety and panic responses can trigger real, intense sensations of chest tightness, sharp pain, or a heavy feeling in the chest.
Here are 10 ways you can mindfully lower your heart rate when you're feeling anxious.
This could be emotional changes like sadness, fear, dread, guilt, grief, shame or regret; as well as changes to the way we act like withdrawing from others, losing motivation, reduced interest in usual activities, sudden tearfulness, not wanting to be alone, or repeatedly checking your vital signs.
ER for anxiety: Symptoms you should have checked out
In more extreme cases, anxiety can lead to suicidal ideation. If you're having thoughts of harming yourself, it's important to seek immediate emergency care.
Severe anxiety can cause a sense of breathlessness and vague disquiet in the chest. A heart attack is classically a constricting pressure in the chest, often with a feeling of impending doom and shortness of breath.
These classic anxiety symptoms are often mistaken for a heart attack—and for good reason. Emotional turmoil triggers the release of stress hormones, which act on the same brain areas that regulate cardiovascular functions such as heart rate and blood pressure.
Cardiologists generally advise avoiding processed meats, sugary drinks and sweets, and foods high in trans fats and sodium, like most fried foods and salty snacks, because they raise bad cholesterol, blood pressure, and inflammation, significantly increasing heart disease risk. Focusing on whole foods and limiting these culprits is key for heart health.
What is the best fruit for the heart? While all fruits benefit heart health, berries and avocados are particularly great for their antioxidants and healthy fats.
Cardiologists we talked to say green tea benefits heart health in several key ways. Dr. Leonard Pianko, MD, FACC, a cardiologist with Aventura, reveals that one reason why green tea is good for cardiovascular health is that it's high in antioxidants.