But good medicines such as beta blockers help curb the adrenaline response, Ho said. That's because when the heart rate goes up, the heart uses more oxygen, which can be risky for an older person with blood vessel blockages or who has had a prior heart attack. The response is somewhat similar to a fast heartbeat while running on a treadmill, although exercise has other benefits, he said.įor people with serious heart problems, love could actually be dangerous, Ho said. They flow through the blood and cause the heart to beat faster and stronger, Ho said. Here's how it works: The brain sends signals to the adrenal gland, which secretes hormones such as adrenaline, epinephrine and norepinephrine.

Reginald Ho, a cardiac electrophysiologist and associate professor of medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When you catch sight of your beloved and your heart starts racing, that's because of an adrenaline rush, said Dr. 'Typically, that's going to start with things like increased heart rate, sweatiness and so on,' 'Part of the whole attraction process is strongly linked to physiological arousal as a whole,' said Timothy Loving (his real name), assistant professor of human ecology at the University of Texas, Austin. (CNN) - Poets, novelists and songwriters have described it in countless turns of phrase, but at the level of biology, love is all about chemicals.Īlthough the physiology of romantic love has not been extensively studied, scientists can trace the symptoms of deep attraction to their logical sources.

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