Houston Cardiac Association


About Us\| FAQ's\| News & Events\| Forms\| Testimonials\| Contact Us

Palpitations

Palpitations are the awareness of heart activity. The sensation may feel like pounding, fluttering, racing, or skipping beats.

Causes

Ordinarily, people do not notice the beating of their heart, but sometimes awareness of normal heart activity is heightened. Many people can feel heartbeats when they lie on their left side. Also, under certain circumstances-for example, when exercising strenuously or having a dramatic emotional experience-healthy people may become aware of their heartbeats. They may feel the heart beating very forcefully or rapidly or sense an irregular heartbeat.

Palpitations may result from a disturbance of heart rhythm (arrhythmia). Arrhythmias range from harmless to life threatening. The most common are premature atrial contractions (PACs) and premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), which are usually harmless. These arrhythmias usually occur in people without a heart disorder.

Other arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and ventricular tachycardia, usually occur in people with a heart disorder such as coronary artery disease, a heart valve disorder, or a disorder that affects the heart's electrical conduction system. Caffeine, alcohol, and some drugs (such as amphetamines, cocaine, epinephrine, ephedrine, and theophylline) can cause palpitations. Palpitations may also result from an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism), anemia, a low oxygen level in the blood (hypoxia), and a low potassium level in the blood (hypokalemia).

Evaluation

Determining whether palpitations are abnormal depends on answers to a number of questions, such as whether they started suddenly or gradually, whether something seems to trigger them, how fast the heart beats, and whether and to what extent the beat seems to be irregular. An occasional skipped heartbeat suggests PACs or PVCs. A constant sensation of irregular heartbeats suggests atrial fibrillation. Regular heartbeats that suddenly become rapid, then suddenly slow to the normal rate, suggest supraventricular or ventricular tachycardia. Palpitations that occur with other symptoms, such as shortness of breath, pain, weakness, fatigue, or fainting, are more likely to result from an abnormal heart rhythm or a serious disorder.

Doctors also listen to the heart with a stethoscope. Electrocardiography (ECG) is usually done, but unless symptoms occur during the test, ECG does not usually help with a diagnosis. If symptoms are significant but intermittent, continuous ambulatory ECG may be done. Other possible tests include ultrasonography of the heart (echocardiography) and certain blood tests.

footer.asp