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We often say that pregnancy is an amazing journey. It’s because the way a woman’s body prepares itself to host a tiny human being for nine whole months is simply incredible. Almost every part of her body will undergo changes to accommodate the needs of the little one. Some of the changes are pretty obvious like the growing belly or breast enlargement. However, the internal organs of an expectant mother too get affected by pregnancy, something she may not be aware of. One such important organ that gets affected during pregnancy is a woman’s cardiovascular system. Let’s see how exactly pregnancy affects your heart’s activity:
Pregnancy And The Heart Rate
During pregnancy, your heart has to pump an extra amount of blood to support the growing needs of your baby. Thus, in a normal, healthy pregnant woman, the cardiovascular system undergoes drastic changes like:
- There is an increase of 50% in the blood plasma volume
- The resting pulse rate increases by 17%
- Cardiac output – which is the volume of blood pumped by your heart – also increase by 50% (1)
- 心输出量的增加通常由于山峰d the 20th week of pregnancy and remains so until delivery (2)
Soon after delivery, your cardiac activity will return to normal in about 10 days. And, by 3 months following childbirth, the cardiac output, systemic vascular resistance and stroke volume all return to your normal pre-pregnancy state.
However, your cardiac activity during pregnancy can be influenced by a lot of factors including underlying health issues like a family history of heart disease or a pre-existing cardiac condition (3).
What If The Heart Rate Becomes Irregular In Pregnancy?
Your heart rate can, at times, function in an irregular manner, which is often called an arrhythmia. This is when your heart’s beating becomes faster (tachycardia) or becomes too slow (bradycardia) than the normal rate (4).
As mentioned earlier, your cardiac activity and output increases during pregnancy. This can sometimes cause your heart to beat faster and result in palpitations. These palpitations would feel as though your heartbeat is racing or like a fluttering sensation. Other symptoms include lightheadedness, uneasiness, or like a pounding sensation in the chest. And, these can be normal during pregnancy. However, if you experience severe symptoms like shortness of breath with the slightest of exertion; an irregular pulse; chest pain; difficulty in breathing or cough up blood, then you should see your doctor immediately (5).
Apart from pregnancy, an irregular heartbeat can also be influenced by certain lifestyle choices and underlying conditions like:
- Stress
- Unhealthy food habits
- Excessive caffeine intake
- Underlying thyroid disorders like hyperthyroidism
- Anxiety
- Previous history of heart disease
- Certain medications that contain pseudoephedrine
Detecting an underlying heart condition can be difficult during pregnancy. This is because of the similarity in most of the symptoms. However, you don’t need to worry about that since during pregnancy you’ll be visiting your doctor often. So, you can always keep your doctor apprised of your condition on a regular basis (6).
Some Useful Tips
The medically-related heart problems will be dealt with by your doctor. For non-medical heart issues during pregnancy, here are a few things that you can do:
- Try to keep stress at bay as much as possible
- Do not exert yourself or get anxious about regular stuff at home
- Practice deep breathing and meditation to keep yourself calm
- Cut down on your caffeine intake completely
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet
- Do not give in to your cravings for high-sugar, high-calorie food
- Indulge in some light physical activity regularly like an evening walk
Your safety and health during pregnancy are as important as your baby’s. Therefore, do not neglect any signs or symptoms which you might feel is out of the normal. Even if you have the slightest doubts, do not shy away from discussing this with your doctor. Here’s wishing you a happy and healthy pregnancy! Good luck!
