Study Shows Caffeine DOESN'T Cause Palpitations, But I Know it Does

I'd wonder at how you isolated caffeine foe your tests. Do you just compare yourself with and without red bull, coffee,etc.?

 

No, I have tried to keep track of how much sleep I've had, the level of activity, stress, diet, and alcohol consumption. It didn't have this effect in the past, but a few months ago I started getting palpitations for the first time, and I've had them ever since. I don't think they reflect a serious condition because they almost never occur when I'm physically active or distracted; they always occur when I'm anxious or focusing on something very intently. I believe that the coffee is exacerbating my anxiety levels, and that in turn is causing the palpitations.

Perhaps you could say that anxiety is the real problem, but the palpitations almost never occur when I haven't had any coffee, even when I have reason to be anxious. It is also possible that I'm simply out of shape and need to be more active. With my new job, that will not be a problem.

 

Take this with a grain of salt, since medical advice without a doctor's visit is always limited and can never replace a doctor's visit. Nothing you hear on a forum can replace a doctor's visit. But for what it's worth: Palpitations could be a lot of things. It could just be that you're not used to caffeine and you feel your heart when it beats harder and faster. Anxiety and exercise will give a lot of people palpitations. It could be PVC or other relatively benign temporary arrhythmia. Studies do show that people don't get arrhythmias because of caffeine, but it is also true that people with underlying arrhythmias can have heart problems made worse with high doses of caffeine, which can rarely be fatal. If you have problems with arrythmias, your doctor may want to do an EKG to check on your heart. It's not invasive, just a bunch of stickers on your chest. Worst-case scenario is your insurance refuses to pay for it without a compelling indication - this happened to me years ago, was like 70 bucks. I have a chronic condition and they wanted a baseline EKG for me which was normal. In the meantime, it would probably be best not to use large amounts of caffeine. Ask your doctor about it and they may give you an EKG, or just reassure you depending upon other information about you. Other possible tests include an exercise EKG or echocardiogram (sound-based image of heart), or wearing something for a day that continuously monitors your heart.

 

Thanks for the info.

Yeah, I've just got to wait for my insurance at the new job to kick in.