I am a nurse and mother of three. I work night shift and sometimes dont get to go to bed after working a twelve hour shift. Why does my heart beat harder. Its not faster just harder. Im sure its my body telling me to go to bed. Should I be worried since I cant.
Hello. Thank you for your question and welcome to Chat Doctor. I understand your concern. Well, madame, who else then us can understand better the nature of your job? It is that the certain amounts of time in standing position and performing various duties, varying from easy to really hard, puts the organism and heart, especially, to a hyperkinetic state. To overcome this state and the load on it, the heart has to do more to cope with this load. Therefore, harder or "pounding" heart beats are produced. Also, adding to this, every time we engage to moderate to strenuous physical activity, assume certain positions for a long time, undergo to a lot of psychological stress and demanding duties, and lose the normal cycle of sleep which is a characteristic of all shift jobs and which is accompanied by changes in normal diurnal and nocturnal hormonal levels, are all factors that are superimposed to this stressing event to the heart. I would recommend you a period of a week or two weeks of holidays or going to a spa, where relaxing programs are readily available. I hope this answers your query. Take care. Best regards,