Heart palpitations two weeks before your period

Palpitations are an awareness of a heartbeat that feels fast, forceful, irregular, or fluttering. Around the middle of the cycle, hormone shifts, stress, sleep disruption, pain, caffeine, or changes in eating and drinking may affect how the heartbeat feels. A pattern that repeats at a similar point in each cycle is useful information, but it does not prove the cycle is the only cause.

Anaemia or iron-deficiency anaemia, dehydration, low blood sugar, an overactive thyroid, anxiety, or atrial fibrillation can also be associated with palpitations. Heart failure is less common but needs consideration when palpitations occur with breathlessness, swelling, or reduced exercise tolerance.

Keep a simple diary of the first day of bleeding, the day and time of each episode, your activity, sleep, food, caffeine, medicines, and accompanying symptoms. Drink fluids normally, eat regular meals, and reduce stimulants if they seem to trigger symptoms. Arrange a clinical review if episodes keep returning, last longer, or interfere with daily life; an examination, ECG, or blood tests may help identify a cause.

Call emergency services for palpitations with chest pain, severe breathlessness, fainting, collapse, or new one-sided weakness. Seek prompt medical advice for a sustained very fast or irregular heartbeat, repeated dizziness, or symptoms that are becoming more frequent. Do not assume a menstrual pattern makes a serious symptom safe to watch at home.

Could my cycle timing be contributing? Should I have an ECG or tests for anaemia, thyroid problems, or blood sugar? Which medicines and supplements should I review? What duration or associated symptom should prompt emergency help?