I’ve been doing Keto for almost a month now. may 4th will mark a month. Everything was fine but I’ve notice the past 4-5 days I’ve been experiencing heart palpitations. I’ve noticed I don’t get any problems in the morning until after I eat my first meal. I added extra salt (Himalayan pink salt) to more water today. Bought ultima electrolyte powder to help and also a teaspoon of cream of tartar in my water for extra potassium… So far it didn’t seem to help. I later took a 400 mg supplement of magnesium and that helped a bit. Heartbeat wasn’t as fast and loud and anxiety is calm for a bit. I was just wondering what is the cause?? Am I on the right track? Will it go away?? I’ve attach my nutrition facts log to the topic as well. Hopefully that helps. Thank you!!!
Experiencing Heart Palpitations
Welcome to the forums, and May the Fourth be with you! 
What is your salt intake like? A couple of studies have shown that people are at their healthiest when consuming between 4 and 6 g/day of sodium, which is 10-15 g/day of sodium chloride. This includes salt already present in our food, as well as what we add to it. Getting salt in the proper range also helps our body manage magnesium, potassium, and calcium.
If your body is ridding itself of accumulated oxalic acid (a phytochemical present in many plant foods; it accumulates as the result of a high-carb diet), then it’s going to need extra magnesium, potassium, and calcium, because it uses them to chelate the oxalates. If you think oxalate dumping is a possibility, look up Sally K. Norton, who has studied it and has some techniques for dealing with it.
Now, there may be some other problem happening, so if you don’t see results from the electrolytes, you might need to see your doctor. Sometimes problems do occur independently of keto!
In any case, good luck, and please let us know your progress.
I think my salt intake might be too low. I also was trying to cut out salt a bit. Getting under 2.5G of salt. I had a bit more yesterday but not around the 4-6 gram range. I’ll try that today. Thank you!!
Good luck! It’s likely to help.
The U.S. government’s recommendation for salt intake is woefully low, by the way. Below 2.3 g/day, the body experiences severe effects from lack of sodium.
Do you think stress could cause it? I’ve been stressing a lot on the keto diet. Just thoughts like am I getting enough fats, calories, proteins etc is always on my mind and constantly worrying about macros? I did some breathing exercises today and it reduce a lot with the palpitations. Magnesium supplements also help a lot too
It certainly could be from stress. However, there is little that we need to stress about with a ketogenic diet. Basically, keep carb intake low, preferably below 20 g/day. Eat when hungry, stop when no longer hungry. Don’t eat again until you’re hungry again. Rinse and repeat.
That’s it. If you find it hard to satisfy your hunger, eat more fat. If that doesn’t work, eat more protein instead. (People’s relative needs are different, so listen to your body.)
The rest is all in the nature of tweaks. Whole, real foods are great; we find that even “keto-friendly” processed foods are best avoided. Grass-fed meat is nice, if you can afford it. Animal fats (butter, bacon grease, lard, tallow) are healthier than seed oils (canola, soy, corn, cottonseed, etc.). And so on. But the best advice is “Keep calm and keto on” (KCKO).
When someone is new to this way of eating their body dumps a lot of water and with the water we lose our electrolytes. Salt helps us retain the electrolytes. But you may need more magnesium, at least for a while I like magnesium glycinate, but it comes in other forms as well. This will pass. It happened to me as well way back when. 
I can imagine plenty (of course, it’s individual, in ideal cases it’s chill and all is well, sure) but people can worry needlessly too (that’s sad. anyway, worrying isn’t hedonistic, we should try to do things right but it doesn’t need we should actually WORRY)… Many of us need our “special” keto diet, just any won’t do. Some people have problematic tastes so doing keto is hard to begin with… All diets can be done wrong.
There’s a girl at work who has a cardiology degree. When my mate had a problem last year - atrial fibrillation I think - she said the worse things for the heart were salt and calcium. My mates problems went away but not sure if he quit the calcium tablets he was on or if he stopped with the salt.
I’m in no way qualified this is all anecdotal so be careful and see a Doc! Best of luck.
Heart palpitations is usually more Potassium than Sodium, you’re losing all your electrolytes when you first switch. Almost nobody gets the RDA, let alone optimal amounts for somebody on a WOE that has a built in diuretic effect.
Welcome, I agree with the above advice from the others. Salt is necessary. Electrolytes are also a good option, but PLEASE don’t let something like this go…see your physician to be sure that’s all it is!!
Depends on your levels, most are low to begin with, the diuretic effect of strict keto won’t go away, without the carbs we have trouble holding onto electrolytes. The RDA’s are based on people eating diets that are balanced by normal standards, those aren’t the rules Keto’rs play by. That’s why many up salt. You don’t have to go to crazy levels as many do, but simply getting enough is usually all it takes.
Grab some Lite Salt and take 1/4tsp 2x day and if that’s it, it should fix near immediately. That’ll be your answer.