Pregnancy And Baby Care Conditions During Pregnancy Increased Heart Rate During Pregnancy

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Causes of increased heart rate during pregnancy

During pregnancy, the flow of blood from the heart needs to increase, to meet the additional requirement of the body.

This is the main cause of increased heart rate during pregnancy. After a woman conceives there are several alterations that gradually take place within her circulatory system, to accommodate the baby’s requirement for oxygen too. During pregnancy, the blood that reaches the baby through the placenta should carry the required amount of oxygen and nutrients, to ensure that the fetus develops properly. Due to this, the cardiac output of the heart increases by 30% to 50%.

Increased heart rate pregnancy symptom

During the first trimester, it is normal for a woman’s heartbeat to increase by around 15 or 20 beats per minute.

As the pregnancy progresses into the second trimester, there are several other changes that occur in the body, like relaxation of the muscles and dilation of the arteries, which maintains the pressure of blood, but increases the volume of the blood that is circulating. This is why the shortness of breath and increased heart rate during pregnancy 2nd trimester reaches almost 30%. However, the highest peak in heartbeat occurs between the 28th and 35th week.

However, at times, other unfavorable may be seen in addition to the increase of heart rate. These unfavorable symptoms could include:

• Pounding or racing of the pulse
• Uneven breath or shortness of breath, even when the woman is not active
• Fainting spells, dizziness or lightheadedness
• Palpitations
• Feeling of skipped heartbeats
• Persistent cough

Hence, in case any of these symptoms are seen it is important to visit the doctor and go through an exam, just to make sure that the baby is alright. In case a woman experiences severe shortness of breath and increased heart rate during pregnancy, it is best for her to consult her doctor at the earliest. Moreover, increased heart rate during early pregnancy should be checked by a doctor too.