External Arrhythmia Triggers
Arrhythmias don’t necessarily need some type of internal condition like heart disease to trigger them. In fact, arrhythmias can often result from “every-day” sources. In most cases it is not possible to identify any specific triggers. Examples of triggers include:
Stimulants: Can cause premature and irregular heartbeats
- Smoking
- Cocaine, amphetamines or certain prescription or over-the-counter medicines
- Caffeine
Other Triggers
- Strong emotional stress or anger causes your heart to work harder, raise blood pressure and release stress hormones that lead to arrhythmias
- Excessive alcohol consumption may decrease heart function over time and can trigger electrical impulses in the heart
- Dehydration, which results in decreased blood volume returning to the heart and can also cause electrolyte imbalances in your blood (such as low levels of sodium or potassium): Low or high levels of electrolytes can affect the electrical impulses of the heart
- Lack of sleep, sleep disturbances or sleep apnea
- Abnormal sleep patterns and lack of sleep are associated with arrhythmia onset. Numerous arrhythmias have been associated with sleep apnea. Increase atrial arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter may be associated with sleep apnea. Treating sleep apnea may improve these arrhythmias in some cases.
- A combination of physical and emotional exhaustion is quite common
- Gastroesophageal reflux has been associated with premature atrial and ventricular extra beats or more sustained arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation . Treatment of gastroesophageal reflux may decrease these arrhythmias.