The Moment My Heart Started Racing
— and I Panicked
It happened without warning.
One minute I was fine, and the next my heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.
There was no obvious reason, no dramatic trigger, no buildup.
Fear came instantly.
My mind went straight to the worst-case scenarios.
Something must be wrong with my heart.
I tried to breathe through it.
That didn’t help.
If anything, focusing on my breath made me more aware of how fast everything felt.
The pounding eventually slowed, but the fear lingered.
For days after, I waited for it to happen again.
Every flutter made my body tense.
At the time, I didn’t connect it to menopause.
No one had ever told me that hormonal shifts could affect heart rhythm, adrenaline, and fear responses all at once.
What I felt wasn’t just a physical sensation — it was my nervous system sounding an alarm.
Later, I learned what was actually happening.
Estrogen plays a role in how the heart and blood vessels respond to stress.
As levels fluctuate, the body becomes more sensitive to adrenaline.
That surge doesn’t require danger.
It can be triggered by poor sleep, blood sugar dips, dehydration, or emotional overload.
Once it starts, fear pours fuel on the fire.
The scariest part wasn’t the racing heart.
It was how fast my mind assumed catastrophe.
I didn’t trust my body anymore.
What helped wasn’t forcing myself to calm down.
Reassurance worked better than control.
Understanding changed my response completely.
Now, when it happens, I don’t panic the way I did before.
I ground instead of brace.
I remind myself that this sensation is information, not a threat.
The episodes have become less frequent.
When they do happen, they pass more quickly.
My body learned that it doesn’t need to escalate to be heard.
If this has happened to you, you’re not imagining it.
You’re not weak.
And you’re not alone.
Menopause changes how the body signals stress.
Learning the language of those signals brings relief.
Trust can be rebuilt.
One more thing I want to name, because it mattered for me.
Being on high blood pressure medication has also helped reduce how intense these episodes feel.
Stabilizing blood pressure lowered the baseline strain on my system, which made the adrenaline surges less dramatic.
That doesn’t mean medication is the answer for everyone.
It does mean that addressing cardiovascular support alongside hormones and nervous system regulation made a real difference in my experience.
For me, it was part of restoring trust in my body again.