KMPH Fox 26 Central San Joaquin Valley News Source in Fresno, California Entertainment, News, Sports and Weather | Heart palpitations - causes, symptoms, care

Heart palpitations - causes, symptoms, care

By Howard Seidman, Staff Writer, myOptumHealth

Content provided by
 

Did you know your heart beats about 100,000 times a day? Most likely, you're only aware of it when you are quietly resting or when you are anxious or exercising.

Sometimes your heart might feel like it's pounding too hard, skipping beats or racing for no clear reason. This feeling is called heart palpitations.

Heart palpitations:

• Feel like a skipping, fluttering, pounding, rapid or irregular heartbeat
• Usually last a few seconds to a few minutes

Most of the time, heart palpitations are harmless. At times, though, they can signal a very serious heart rhythm disturbance.

Call 9-1-1 if you have any of the following along with palpitations:

• Fainting or near fainting
• Dizziness, lightheadedness or abnormal fatigue
• Chest pain or pain in the upper back, arms or jaw
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea or indigestion

Also, seek help right away if the palpitations are new or come on suddenly and you have:

• Palpitations that are prolonged or recurrent
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Thyroid disease
• Diabetes
• Any other chronic illness, or if you are pregnant or frail
• A family history of sudden cardiac death or heart rhythm problems

What causes heart palpitations?

Medications or stimulants that can cause palpitations include:

• Decongestants and drugs for asthma, thyroid problems and other conditions
• Herbal supplements
• Illegal drugs (such as cocaine)
• Caffeine
• Alcohol
• Tobacco

Health conditions that can cause heart palpitations include:

• Panic disorders or panic attacks
• Stress
• Thyroid disease
• Anemia (low blood count)
• Hormone changes during perimenopause

Heart-related conditions that can make a heart beat quickly, slowly or unevenly may include:

• Heart valve problems
• Coronary artery disease
• Atrial fibrillation or other heart rhythm conditions

Sometimes, no clear cause can be found for heart palpitations.

Talking to a doctor

If you have heart palpitations, see your doctor for an exam. Your doctor will take a thorough medical history and ask questions about your symptoms. You will be asked to describe your palpitations. Questions may include:

• How often do they occur?
• How long do they last?
• Do other symptoms or sensations accompany them?
• Do situations or behaviors make them worse or better?

Your doctor will also:

• Listen to your heart and breath sounds
• Take your pulse, blood pressure and temperature
• Do an electrocardiogram (EKG) to record your heart's electrical activity and check its rate and rhythm

Your doctor may suspect that your palpitations are caused by an underlying problem. If so, you may have additional tests, including a complete blood count and thyroid function tests.

If your doctor suspects an underlying heart problem, he or she may refer you to a cardiologist (heart specialist). This doctor may do an echocardiogram. This test makes moving images of the heart with sound waves. Results help find heart valve and blood flow problems.

You may not have symptoms at the doctor's office during these tests. If you don't, the doctor may try to trigger the palpitations with activity. You may be asked to walk briskly on a treadmill while hooked up to an EKG machine. Exertion may bring on palpitations or other symptoms of coronary artery disease.

Another option may be to wear a portable device called a Holter monitor. This records your heart activity while you go about your normal daily activities. It tracks heart rhythms, usually over 24 hours. For longer periods, you may have to wear an event monitor. With this, you have to press a "record" button when you feel symptoms.

While you are being monitored, you may also want to write down your symptoms. This written log, along with monitored data, can give your doctor insight into your symptoms.

View the original Heart palpitations - causes, symptoms, care article on myOptumHealth.com 

SOURCES:

• Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders; 2007.

• American Academy of Family Physicians. Heart palpitations.

• American Heart Association. Arrhythmia. Accessed: 04/23/2007

• American Academy of Family Physicians. Diagnostic approach to palpitations. Accessed: 03/14/2008