12 Reasons Why it Feels Like Your Heart Rate Wont Go Down

By Zahra Barnes and Rachel Nall, MSN, CRNA

Medically reviewed by Kevin S. Shah, MD

Sprinting through the final minutes of your run, the stressful seconds leading up to a big presentation, or watching Stranger Things alone in the dark: These are all times when you might feel like your heart rate wont go down. But just going about your daily life shouldnt lead to a racing heartbeat. Typically, your heart is part of a fine-tuned system that keeps the essential organ beating at a certain rhythm. So when the beats unexpectedly speed up, its understandable to feel concerned that something more serious might be happening to you.

Your heart performs an incredible daily balancing act thats crucial to keeping you alive and healthy. The heart beats because of electricity, Shephal Doshi, MD, director of cardiac electrophysiology at Providence Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica, California, tells ishonest. No, not the type that keeps your lights on, although that would be interesting. Instead, these are electrical impulses from a group of cells in your hearts right atrium (chamber) that act like your own internal pacemaker. These cells, known as your sinoatrial (SA) node, tell your heart when and how to beat in order to send oxygen-rich blood throughout your body.

Sometimes, your body can signal your heart to beat faster, and the SA node responds. Other times, signals start coming from other parts of the heart, causing it to speed up. Whatever the reason, a racing heart rate, or heart palpitations, can make you feel anxious, among other unpleasant symptoms.

A racing heart rate has many potential causes, very few of which signal something life-threatening like a heart attack or heart failure. What is important, however, is how your racing heart makes you feel and how often this switch in pace happens. Here are the most common reasons it feels like your heart rate wont go downand when you should consider seeing a doctor.

What is a healthy resting heart rate? | Common causes of a fast heart rate | When to see a doctor

First, how do experts typically define a healthy heart rate?

A normal or healthy resting heart rate for most adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute, according to the US National Library of Medicine. Between these rates, your heart can pump the oxygen-rich blood it needs to your vital organs. If youre very physically activesay, youre an avid runneryou may find your resting heart rate is much lower (sometimes as low as 40 beats per minute). This is because exercise, especially cardiovascular exercise, helps your heart work more efficiently, meaning it can squeeze out more blood at a slower rate, per the Mayo Clinic.

A resting heart rate thats consistently higher than 100 beats per minute or lower than 60 beats per minute (if youre not an athlete) can signal an underlying health issue, according to the Mayo Clinic.

What are the most common causes of a fast heart rate?

Normally, your bodys systems run on autopilot, thanks to your autonomic nervous system, which regulates all the vital functions you dont really need to think about. This includes things like your heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, urination, and various gastrointestinal functions, Brent Goodman, MD, a board- certified neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, tells ishonest.

Sometimes, though, certain lifestyle habits, situations, or even health conditions can cause your heart to start beating very rapidly or irregularly. Here are a few common culprits to keep on your radar.

Lets be real: With everything going on in the world, theres an extremely good chance youre stressed right now. When you encounter something stressful, your body releases a surge of norepinephrine, also known as adrenaline, Camille Frazier-Mills, MD, a cardiologist at Duke Electrophysiology Clinic, tells ishonest. Receptors in your heart respond to this trigger and can make your heart rate pick up.1

If you cant immediately solve whatevers making you stressed (which is hard to do on a good day, let alone in the chaotic reality we live in), try deep breathing exercises to at least help you feel better in the moment. The Mayo Clinic suggests taking deep breaths through your nose so that you feel your stomach rise instead of your chest, and exhaling through your nose as well. Focus on your breath and the rise and fall of your abdomen throughout. (If youre looking for a more detailed exercise to try, check out these relaxing deep breathing videos.)

While most people can handle a certain level of caffeine just fine, overdoing it can make your heart rate speed up. A bunch of patients come to see me with an elevated heart rate, then they tell me they drink multiple highly caffeinated beverages daily, Dr. Mills-Frazier says. Theyre revving themselves up. This is most likely to happen if youve had too much caffeine, but it could also happen in response to small amounts if youre just sensitive to this stimulant.

According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), its technically safe for adults to have up to 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, or around the amount in four or five cups of coffee. If that sounds like a lot to you, it may be, since there is a wide range in how sensitive certain people are to the effects of caffeine and in how fast it gets broken down in the body. Certain medications and health conditions may also make you more sensitive to caffeine, including being pregnant. Try cutting back on caffeine gradually to see if it reduces your racing heart (just dont try to cut it out cold turkey if you rather not deal with the unpleasant side effects of caffeine withdrawal). If that doesnt help, get in touch with your doctor.

If your pounding heart is accompanied by typical cold- or flu-like symptoms, such as a fever, coughing, and sneezing, a viral illness might be the likely culprit. Battling any type of infection requires your body to work harder than usual, and that includes making your heart beat faster in order to fight for homeostasis (its usual stable condition) and kick the infection to the curb, Dr. Mills-Frazier says.

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Another possibility? Your heart is racing due to a cold and flu medication, particularly decongestants. This can happen because the ingredients in these meds narrow the blood vessels. While this is a good thing for drying up a runny nose, it can also lead to an increase in blood pressure and heart rate, per Harvard Health.

Decongestants arent the only type of medication that can make it seem like your heart rate wont go down. If youve ever read a list of possible medication side effects, you probably know tons of them out there cause an elevated heart rate. Whether its related to osteoporosis, allergies, ADHD, or another condition, a lot of medications will increase circulating adrenaline and cause someone to feel like their heart is racing, Dr. Doshi says. This happens so often that doctors will often first ask which medications youre taking when you tell them your heart is beating too quickly. Depending on your medication and medical history, a racing heart can be expected or a sign that you might need to try a different option. Only a doctor can tell you for sure.

When you sleep, your body isnt doing as much, so your heart can slow down. Sleep is your time to reset. If youre not getting that recovery phase, your adrenaline levels during the day can be higher, Dr. Mills-Frazier says. Excess adrenaline charging through your system during the day can lead to a faster heartbeat. The National Sleep Foundation recommends adults get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. If you have trouble clocking those restful minutes, check out these expert-approved tips on how to fall asleep faster.

Theres also a chance youre dealing with something more than typical everyday stress like we talked about above. Persistent, excessive worry might signal one of several anxiety disorders, like generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or separation anxiety disorder, among others, according to the American Psychological Association (APA). While each of these anxiety disorders manifests in different ways (such as in social situations for social anxiety disorder), all of them can trigger physical symptomsincluding a racing heart.

A racing heart can be one of the symptoms you feel during a panic attack, which are episodes of extreme anxiety. Panic attacks are characterized by sudden, unexpected, often paralyzing bouts of fear. You might also feel like you cant get enough air, have chest pains, excessively sweat, or even feel like youre about to die, which can be extremely distressing. For panic attacks to be diagnosed as panic disorder, youll typically experience recurrent, sudden attacks that leave you scared to have another one, according to the APA.

You start releasing more adrenaline, and it becomes this vicious cycle, Dr. Mills-Frazier says, adding that sometimes its difficult to tease out whether a rapid heartbeat contributes to someone having a panic attack or vice versa. If you think youre having panic attacks, dont suffer in silence. Talk to a primary care doctor or consider reaching out to a therapist, if you can, to figure out which treatment option can best help you avoid these scary episodes.

No, we dont mean, Surprise! Better rush out and get a pregnancy test because your racing heart is an early sign youre pregnant. A racing heart isnt one of the usual first signs of pregnancy that people pick up on. We more so mean that if you are pregnant, as your body adjusts over time, you might start noticing that an increased heart rate is part of the ride. Pregnancy is one heck of a roller coaster for your body, including your heart. In order to support the growing pregnancy, your blood volume goes up, and your heart has to work harder to pump out that extra blood, sometimes leading to a higher heart rate, Dr. Doshi says. This is completely normal, but if youre concerned or just feeling like something isnt quite right, dont hesitate to check in with your ob-gyn just to make sure.

Your thyroid, the butterfly-shaped gland that sits at the base of your throat, produces various hormones, like thyroxine and triiodothyronine, which affect a ton of your bodys systems, according to the Mayo Clinic. If you have hyperthyroidism, your thyroid is overactive and produces too much thyroxine, which in turn speeds up your bodys metabolism too much. This can result in a rapid or irregular heartbeat, along with symptoms like an increased appetite and sudden weight loss. There are plenty of medications out there to treat hyperthyroidism, including beta blockers to specifically address your quick heart rate.

Anemia happens when your blood doesnt provide enough oxygen throughout your body, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). This can occur if you dont have enough red blood cells, or if you dont have enough hemoglobin, the iron-rich protein that carries oxygen from your lungs to other parts of your body. In either instance, your heart has to work harder to get blood to every part of you, so you can experience a faster heart rate, Dr. Doshi says. This wont be your only sign of anemia, though. If you have this blood disorder, you can also expect to feel things like fatigue, dizziness, headache, and pale skin.

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To diagnose anemia, your doctor will likely order blood tests to measure the levels of different parts of your blood. They may also have you do a bone marrow test or other tests, such as a colonoscopy, to rule out other chronic conditions, per the NHLBI. If you are diagnosed with anemia, the treatment will depend on the cause and severity, but it can include things like iron or vitamin B12 supplements, or medications to help your bone marrow produce more red blood cells.

A heart arrhythmia happens when theres some sort of electrical malfunction in your heart, which can cause it to beat irregularly. There are many forms of arrhythmias, and they have different causes, but they can often make it feel like your heart is beating quickly or strangely out of nowhere. Although an arrhythmia sounds like a dire diagnosis from Greys Anatomy, its actually not always serious. Many arrhythmias are not life-threatening, Dr. Mills-Frazier says. Obviously with higher-risk patients, they can be, but theyre often treatable. Arrhythmias often present with side effects like dizziness, nausea, fainting, chest pain, and shortness of breath, according to the American Heart Association.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a relatively common condition that causes your heart rate to increase as much as 30 beats per minute when standing up. Women are five times more likely to be diagnosed with this condition than men. While experts dont totally understand what causes this disorder, it stems from a problem with blood circulation, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Basically, in people with POTS, blood vessels dont automatically tighten to push blood to the upper parts of the body when they stand up. This can trigger symptoms like problems tolerating exercise, feeling lightheaded, nauseated, having headaches, or passing out (or very nearly passing out).3 The body continues to release fight or flight hormones to try to constrict the blood vessels, which forces the heart to beat faster and faster.

With POTS, youll experience symptoms like lightheadedness and a rapid heart rate when standing up, but not when lying down, Dr. Goodman explains. In addition, he says many people with POTS also have chronic digestive issues like diarrhea, vomiting, bloating, or constipation, which suggests there is something going on with the autonomic nervous system in general.4

When to see a doctor about a racing heart rate

We repeat, rarely is a racing heart an emergency. But if you experience a rapid heart rate along with chest pain, feeling weak, lightheaded, or short of breath, its best to call 911 (dont try to drive to the hospital)you could be experiencing symptoms of heart failure or a heart attack.

1. World Journal of Cardiology, Autonomic and Endocrine Control of Cardiovascular Function
2. Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, Effect of Smoking on Blood Pressure and Resting Heart Rate
3. Cureus, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Its Unusual Presenting Complaints in Women: A Literature Minireview
4. Clinical Autonomic Research, Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Postural Tachycardia Syndrome: a Systematic Review