Palpitations: what to record
Palpitations are one of the more unsettling symptoms to experience, and one of the ones most likely to be investigated entirely on its own — separated from the hot flashes, sleep disruption and anxiety happening in the same months.
That separation is the problem. A palpitation that arrives alongside a hot flash is a different piece of information from one that arrives at rest, unconnected to anything, and only a record shows you which one you're dealing with.
What to record
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Date and time | Thursday, 11:40pm, in bed |
| Duration | Under a minute |
| With or without a hot flash | Started right after a flash |
| What else was true | Third bad night this week; two coffees that day |
| What it felt like | Fast, not painful |
Whether it travels with a hot flash is the single most useful field. It is also the one people forget to note, because in the moment the palpitation is what has your attention.
Why this symptom deserves its own page
Search for palpitations and almost everything written is cardiology content, reasonably so — some causes need a cardiac workup. But a large amount of medical guidance on the menopause transition lists palpitations as a commonly reported symptom, and very little tells you what to actually write down before you're asked "how often, and when." This page is that gap.
What a clinician will want to separate
- Cardiac causes — arrhythmias and other conditions with their own tests, some of which have better outcomes when caught early. This is the main reason not to file new palpitations under "hormones" and wait if anything about them feels different or worrying.
- Thyroid conditions — a common cause of palpitations alongside other symptoms.
- Anxiety — palpitations and anxiety can each trigger the other, and a dated record showing what came first, if anything, is genuinely useful information.
- Caffeine, alcohol, and poor sleep — common, ordinary contributors, worth noting rather than assuming.
- The transition itself.
These are not mutually exclusive. A record that shows timing, duration, and what travelled with it is how the list gets narrowed, rather than guessed at.
When it should not wait
Palpitations with chest pain, breathlessness, dizziness or fainting; a very fast or irregular heartbeat that does not settle on its own; or any new palpitations if you already have a heart condition are reasons to seek assessment, not reasons to log and wait. Read your own health service's guidance on this and act on it rather than defer.
This is general information, not medical advice. HormoneLog is a tracking tool, not a diagnostic or treatment device, and nothing here can tell you whether your symptoms are normal, what they mean, or what you should do about them. Those are conversations for a clinician who knows your history.
Hot flashes: what to record. · Anxiety and mood. · What to take to your first appointment.
More in this section
About HormoneLog
HormoneLog is an iOS app from Baker Ventures LLC for tracking perimenopause and menopause symptoms and keeping an HRT record: what you took, at what dose, from when, and what changed afterwards. It is built for the appointment, where "it has been bad lately" is worth far less than a dated record of frequency and severity. The app is in development.
HormoneLog is a record-keeping tool. It does not diagnose, does not score you, and makes no claim about symptom relief. The guides on this site link to NICE, the NHS, the Menopause Society and peer-reviewed sources, and say plainly where the evidence is thin. Everything here is free and needs no account.
Questions and answers
Can perimenopause cause heart palpitations?
Palpitations are among the symptoms commonly reported during the menopause transition and are listed by health services alongside hot flashes and other vasomotor symptoms. That does not rule out a cardiac or other cause, which is exactly why a description with context matters.
What should I record about a palpitation?
The date and time, roughly how long it lasted, what you were doing, whether it happened with or separately from a hot flash, and anything else — caffeine, alcohol, stress, poor sleep the night before.
When should palpitations be checked rather than tracked?
Palpitations with chest pain, breathlessness, dizziness or fainting, a very fast or irregular heartbeat that doesn't settle, or any new palpitations if you have a heart condition should be assessed, not logged and waited on. Your health service publishes guidance on when to seek urgent care.
Does HormoneLog diagnose the cause of palpitations?
No. HormoneLog records what you log — when, how long, and what else was happening. Identifying the cause is a clinical judgement, and some causes need tests only a clinician can order.
HormoneLog. “Palpitations: what to record.” Baker Ventures LLC, September 8, 2026. https://hormonelog.bakerventuresstudio.com/guides/palpitations-what-to-record/