Hard pounding pulse in neck/heart after meals

[Lilypad83]

I have a hard pounding pulse in neck/heart after meals... it goes on and on... I want it to stop! Could it be a heart problem or maybe excess in thyroid hormones? It is very bothersome.... it won't stop beating so hard... pulsating... throbbing... in my neck mainly the right side of my neck... I can even feel the pulse in my fingers! Then my breathing speeds up too... it's all very stressful. What is this?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the forum!
The pulse you feel in the neck region and in the fingers can be due to a heavy stomach pressing on the heart. It can also be a reaction or intolerance to some food item. Another possibility is gastric reflux or GERD.
It can just be palpitations that you feel. This can be felt as shakiness throughout the body or feeling of an impulse travelling through the body. Palpitations may be normally felt if you are overexerted. Chemicals like adrenaline, alcohol, caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines, and other drugs all cause palpitations. Disease (such as hyperthyroidism and pheochromocytoma) or mitral stenosis, panic disorder all cause a feeling of an impulse travelling through the body. Palpitations may be associated with heart problems, anemias and low blood pressure.
Go over these possibilities with your doctor. It is difficult to comment beyond this without examining.
Hope this helps. Do let me know if there is any thing else and keep me posted. Take care!

[LivingInHope]

Your blood pressure normally rises after you eat.  I believe your heart works harder while your body is trying to digest.  If you think your heart is over-reacting to eating, you might ask a doctor if you could get referred to a cardiologist for a holter monitor and if that shows a lot of dramatic swings in your pulse rate, you might ask for a tilt table test to see if you have dysautonomia.