What Are Heart Palpitations?
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Every year, nearly 700,000 people die of heart disease—that's nearly one out of five deaths. It's no wonder, then, that you may worry about heart palpitations.
Heart palpitations feel as though your heart is beat is beating irregularly for a moment. For those who experience heart palpitations, this can be a scary moment. They are usually harmless, but they may sometimes be signs of a more serious condition.
Symptoms of Heart Palpitations
Heart palpitations feel like your heart is skipping a beat, or like your heartbeat is briefly rapid or fluttering. Sometimes, the feeling can occur in the chest, neck, or throat—usually after strenuous activity.
If heart palpitations are accompanied by pain in the chest, shortness of breath, dizziness, or fainting, you should immediately contact emergency services.
Heart Palpitations and the Upper Cervical Spine
The upper cervical spine consists of the seven uppermost vertebrae, which begin just below the skull and go down the neck. This is a vulnerable area prone to injury from accidents, aging, or poor posture. This can result in cervical instability.
When a person is suffering from cervical instability, it can cause autonomic myopathy or autonomic neuropathy—more commonly known as nerve damage. When nerves are damaged it can block the flow of signals between the brain and the heart or blood vessels, and this can lead to heart palpitations.
Adjusting the spine so that it is properly aligned reduces inflammation, allowing nerves to function and begin healing. Upper cervical care has been shown to improve circulation, which can help reduce heart palpitations and other health problems.
How We Treat Heart Palpitations
For any heart issues, you should contact your doctor. Many heart patients find it beneficial to add upper cervical care to their general health care treatments.
At Blair Chiropractic Clinic in Lubbock, Texas, our upper cervical specialist is Dr. Gordon Elder. Dr. Elder is a practitioner of the Blair Chiropractic Technique, a modern chiropractic technique utilizing advanced diagnostic technology to eliminate guesswork. This makes for much more gentle adjustments that require fewer visits and hold longer.
Dr. Elder takes a three-step approach to treating patients with heart palpitations. The first step involves a thorough exam using 3D imaging tools to help calculate any misalignments of the upper cervical spine.
After the initial exam, Dr. Elder can apply minimal pressure to precise places to make corrections. Unlike traditional chiropractic methods, there are no jarring twists are abrupt jerks. Corrections are swift but gentle, and once the spine is realigned the body's natural healing processes take over to restore health.
The third step involves ongoing upper cervical care through periodic preventative visits. Dr. Elder prefers to nip problems in the bud to keep the body functioning optimally.
Don't let heart palpitations cause stress and make you worry about your overall health every time they strike. Contact Dr. Elder for an appointment. The doctor's area of coverage includes Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland, Odessa, Abilene, and El Paso in Texas, as well as Hobbs in New Mexico.
Published by Vic Belonogoff: A Blair Chiropractic doctor helped heal vertigo, among other conditions that Vic Belonogoff suffered from, and it gave him his life back. He continues to see an upper cervical chiropractor as a preventative measure. Vic Belonogoff is passionate about upper cervical chiropractic and how much it helps patients.