Increased pulse rate during pregnancy?

liz4paws · February 2014

On Wednesday after lunch, out of nowhere I could feel my heart pounding. I thought my BP might be high so I decided to go home and work from there for the remainder of the day so I could keep an eye on my BP. When I walked in the door (panicked, probably) it was 150/86, with a pulse of 113. A few minutes later it went down to about 136/80 but pulse stayed high at 113. I kept taking readings and the BP went down but my pulse remained around 113 for about 45 minutes until finally it went down to normal again - around 120/70 HR of 85.

I called the nurse but didn't hear back for a few hours. When she called, she seemed to be concerned, but took more of a 'lets keep an eye on it' approach. She said it happened again I should go in and they would "monitor me" and if they needed to refer me to a cardiologist, they would. That kind of freaked me out.

So while waiting for her to call back, I consulted Dr Google and it appears that pregnant women can experience rapid heartbeat and it's not that big of a deal. But my nurse didn't make it sound normal and it freaked me out a little bit because she did act like it was unusual.

Has anyone else dealt with this? What do your OBs say about an increased pulse during pregnancy? I'll obviously still follow my OB's advice but just curious is all!

THANKS.

becomingmommyagain · February 2014

It happens. Your body is pumping around more blood and it will take a while for it to figure out the new rhythm. Definitely keep an eye on it and follow up!

Every so often I'll get a surge in heart rate..that appears to have no source.

marnief · February 2014

My pregnancy book (Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy) says that elevated pulse (and consequent shortness of breath) is definitely normal; your blood volume increases a lot during pregnancy and your heart has to work harder to pump it all through. I don't remember if it mentions BP specifically or not. I can check tonight when I'm home if you haven't gotten a more definitive answer by then.

liz4paws · February 2014

marnief said:

My pregnancy book (Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy) says that elevated pulse (and consequent shortness of breath) is definitely normal; your blood volume increases a lot during pregnancy and your heart has to work harder to pump it all through. I don't remember if it mentions BP specifically or not. I can check tonight when I'm home if you haven't gotten a more definitive answer by then.

Thanks a bunch! I'm less worried about my BP because I'm pretty sure that upper number was elevated due to me panicking. But it was weird the pulse didn't go down. I did have some shortness of breath too, come to think of it.

Roeni · February 2014

I have had lots of palpitations, racing heart, and arrhythmias throughout this pregnancy and was told it is normal. It scares the crap out of me when it happens though.

cinnamonrollcupcake · February 2014

I have also noticed that my heart rate has increased during pregnancy. For me it was a lot more noticeable during first trimester. I haven't talked to my OB about it since mine has always been under 100 and they say normal can range from 60-100. I have also read somewhere (can't remember where) that during pregnancy your blood volume is increased and can cause an elevated heart rate, like others mentioned above. Hope you're able to relax and get to a more comfortable rate.

AlmostWright · February 2014

The same thing happened to me this morning. My pulse was around 100 for about an hour or so, but my blood pressure seemed ok. Even now if I think about it and get anxiouis, it goes back up, but if I try to relax my heart rate seems back down. I didn't call the doctor since it was too early and didn't seem like an emergency this morning so am just trying to relax and monitor now. Please let me know if you find out anything different!

brooklynesque · February 2014

I've definitely noticed some periods of more rapid heartbeat in the past few weeks, usually at random times when the rate should be relatively restful, like when I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep.

BlueEyedDreamer · February 2014

Yep, this has happened to me a lot throughout the pregnancy. It's definitely a weird, disconcerting feeling, but it's supposed to be very normal! It happens to me a lot when I lay on my left side (like all the books tell you to do for best circulation - hah). My friend who is pg says the same thing happens to her.

Try not to worry too much, liz! I hope you are feeling better!

DoublePortion · February 2014

Ditto the PPs! I occasionally notice palpitations (I haven't bothered checking my pulse, though.) and I get out of breath more easily these days. Everything I've read says it's normal due to the extra blood & hard work your body is doing!

I started back doing water aerobics and after very slowly jogging 1 lap in the lazy river (there may have been some floating in addition to jogging...) yesterday I could feel my heart beating a little harder than it should have for 1 lap. I used that as an excuse to do some more floating. lol

jezebel57 · February 2014

Jumping in from SAIF. I had a high pulse rate also- mine was due to anemia though and started around 18-20 weeks. Hope its nothing!

marnief · February 2014

From the Mayo Clinic book I mentioned above, page 404 in the "Symptoms Guide":

Increased Heart Rate

Throughout pregnancy your heart pumps more blood than it does normally. This helps meet the fetus's needs for oxygen and nutrients, which are carried in the blood through the placenta.

As the heart pumps additional blood, your heart rate speeds up as well. Your heart beats progressively faster throughout pregnancy - what may feel like a pounding in your chest. By the third trimester, your heart rate may be 20% faster than it was before you were pregnant.

It also says that 2/3 of all pregnant women experience shortness of breath starting around 13 weeks. It actually says that your BP should decrease during the first 24 weeks (top number by 5-10, bottom by 10-15) and then gradually return to normal.

So, hope that helps!

This was the book my regular gyno (who will be my "normal" ob/gyn starting tomorrow!) recommended - that she used during her own pregnancy - at my "pre-conception" visit way back when before I'd ever heard of AMH or any of this other fun.

liz4paws · February 2014

marnief said:

From the Mayo Clinic book I mentioned above, page 404 in the "Symptoms Guide":

Increased Heart Rate
Throughout pregnancy your heart pumps more blood than it does normally. This helps meet the fetus's needs for oxygen and nutrients, which are carried in the blood through the placenta.
As the heart pumps additional blood, your heart rate speeds up as well. Your heart beats progressively faster throughout pregnancy - what may feel like a pounding in your chest. By the third trimester, your heart rate may be 20% faster than it was before you were pregnant.

It also says that 2/3 of all pregnant women experience shortness of breath starting around 13 weeks. It actually says that your BP should decrease during the first 24 weeks (top number by 5-10, bottom by 10-15) and then gradually return to normal.

So, hope that helps! This was the book my regular gyno (who will be my "normal" ob/gyn starting tomorrow!) recommended - that she used during her own pregnancy - at my "pre-conception" visit way back when before I'd ever heard of AMH or any of this other fun.

Thank you for posting this!!! Sounds about right!

FutureMrsW9 · February 2014

I think this is totally normal, especially given that we have so much extra blood pumping. My resting BP has actually been low (104/44 last time I was checked wtf??), but when I walk up stairs that I do on a daily basis I get winded now, it's so annoying! I also sometime experience shortness of breath when I'm just talking to people for a long period of time. It's bizarre! So don't worry about it unless you're experiencing it for longer periods of time. :-)

Peanutz21 · February 2014

i wouldn't sweat it. i've been running low 100's and definitely short of breath with "exertion"

i take my pulse rate at work sometimes to be funny right before i check the patients (i used to do that to make sure the monitor was working) and my heart rate is always higher than it should be!

Ylvelill · February 2014

My resting is around 80-85 these says. Prepregnancy I normally have about 65-70.

Want a personalized experience?

Increased pulse rate during pregnancy?

Re: Increased pulse rate during pregnancy?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards