It’s easy for the heart rate to rise quickly due to exercise, stress, anxiety, seeing the person you like or even hot weather.
Getting your pulse to come down in the moment can be more challenging, but it’s possible to lower your heart rate fast, cardiologists say.
The techniques might be needed to calm down on a crazy day, reset an abnormally fast heart rhythm or complete a medical screening like the coronary artery calcium score, which can predict future heart attack risk. The CT scan usually requires a heart rate of below 75 beats per minute to get accurate images.
There are ways to slow your heart rate down in the moment, says Dr. Pamela Mason, a cardiologist at UVA Health.
“The biologic pacemaker of the heart is called the sinus node, and it has nervous inputs both from the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system,” Mason, who is the chair of the American College of Cardiology Electrophysiology Council, tells TODAY.com.
The sympathetic nervous system triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response. “Anything that increases the adrenaline in your system can activate that,” Mason notes. “That would include things like anxiety or fear.” The heart begins to beat quicker.
In contrast, the parasympathetic nervous system helps the body relax and calm down. It’s known as the “rest and digest” system, Mason says. Its main nerve is the vagus nerve and there are simple steps you can take to stimulate it, which can lower heart rate, she adds.
What Is a Normal Resting Heart Rate?
For most people, the resting heart rate is between 60 and 80 beats per minute, Mason says.
“There's a wide variety of what's normal from person to person,” she adds.
Very athletic people can have a resting heart rate in the 40s or 50s per minute — a sign their heart is very efficient, Mason notes.
There are also some people who naturally have a heart rate in the 80s to 90s per minute at rest.
A word of caution: If you’re experiencing palpitations with a fast heartbeat, try to capture the rhythm on a home device such as an Apple Watch, advises Dr. Marc Eisenberg, a clinical cardiologist at Columbia University Medical Center and co-author of “Am I Dying?!”
If it shows a fast and irregular heart rate, you may be having atrial fibrillation and should seek medical attention right away since atrial fibrillation can be a cause of a stroke, he warns.
How to Lower Heart Rate Quickly
Vagus nerve stimulation or vagal maneuvers can quickly lower heart rate, though the effect is temporary, Mason says. The heart will slow for a while as long as anxiety isn't taking hold again.
Here are steps to try:
Bear Down
Take a deep breath in and act as if you’re exhaling, but keep your mouth and nose closed.
You’ll feel the pressure in your upper body build up. Some people compare the feeling to bearing down during a bowel movement.
Hold for about 10 seconds and then let the air out slowly.
This is known as the Valsalva maneuver, “which is the classic way of triggering the vagus nerve” by increasing pressure in the chest and abdomen, Mason says.
Blow on a Straw
Put a straw in your mouth and try to exhale through it.
This stimulates the vagus nerve in a similar way to bearing down, by building up pressure in the upper body.
Doctors use these techniques to stop an episode of supraventricular tachycardia, a common, non-life-threatening abnormally high resting heart rate, Mason says.
Cough Forcefully
It’s another way to create pressure in your chest, stimulating the vagus nerve.
Splash Cold Water on Your Face
Use ice cold water to splash your face, or apply an icepack or towel soaked in very cold water to the face.
This works because the vagus nerve can also be stimulated by emotional or stress responses — it’s the nerve responsible for people passing out at the sight of blood or after experiencing a fright, Mason says.
So ice cold water to the face shocks the nerve, stimulating it.
Some heart doctors say they would personally dislike this method.
“I think if I splashed cold water on my face the chill would annoy me and raise my heart rate,” Eisenberg tells TODAY.com.
Try Box Breathing
This is one of the breathing exercises to ease stress and anxiety.
For box breathing, inhale for a count of five, hold your breath for a count of five, exhale for a count of five and hold your breath again for a count of five. Repeat this cycle five times or for as long as you need to.
This has two benefits: It’s probably helping to stimulate the vagal response, but also helps a person calm down, Mason says.
Exhaling long and slow in general can lower the heart rate, Eisenberg adds.
Drink Water
“If someone’s heart rate is suddenly much faster, one may be dehydrated and need to drink fluids with electrolytes and some salt,” Eisenberg says.
That’s because if a person is getting dehydrated, the heart rate will rise to try to compensate for the lower blood volume and keep the blood moving, Mason notes.
Drinking very cold water likely stimulates the vagus nerve, too, she adds.
How to Ensure a Healthy Resting Heart Rate
Exercise is “super important,” Mason notes. Even in modest amounts, exercise is associated with better cardiovascular health, including a lower resting heart rate.
Other factors include staying hydrated, maintaining good nutrition and a healthy body weight, and getting enough sleep so that a person isn’t exhausted trying to get through the day, she adds.
