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What are Heart Palpitations?

So, you're going about your normal day, and suddenly you feel your heart skip a beat. You may even feel a little dizzy. What is going on? Is it life threatening? How do you know if it is or not? What is causing this?

Heart palpitations affect over 4 million people, and the number of cases is climbing. The usual cause of heart palpitation is stress, but there are many other possibilities as listed below.

The key is to relax about the heart palpitations, but go to your doctor ASAP if you haven't already done so. More than likely, your heart palpitation are harmless, but you really need to go see your doctor first ' don't play doctor!

According to MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, palpitations are 'heartbeat sensations that feel like pounding or racing. You may simply have an unpleasant awareness of your own heartbeat. You may feel skipped or stopped beats. The heart's rhythm may be normal or abnormal. Palpitations can be felt in your chest, throat, or neck.'

Palpitations are often not serious, however, it depends upon if the sensations represent an abnormal heart rhythm called an arrhythmia.

Arrhythmias are caused by a disruption of the normal electrical conduction system of the heart. The four chambers of the heart are supposed to contract in a very specific, coordinated manner. However, if a problem occurs anywhere along the conduction system of the heart, an arrhythmia can occur.

The important thing for you to do is to verify with your doctor that your heart palpitations are harmless.

Heart palpitations can be caused by the following:

Exercise
Anxiety, stress, fear
Fever
Caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, diet pills
Overactive thyroid
Heart disease
Anemia
Hyperventilation
Low levels of oxygen in your blood

Medications such as thyroid pills, asthma drugs, beta blockers for high blood pressure or heart disease, or anti-arrhythmics (medications to treat an irregular heart rhythm can sometimes cause a different irregular rhythm)

Mitral valve prolapse -- the valve that separates the left upper chamber (atrium) from the left lower chamber (ventricle) of the heart does not close properly

Call 911 if:

You have fainted or someone you are with loses consciousness.

You have shortness of breath, chest pain, unusual sweating, dizziness, or lightheadedness.

Call your doctor right away if:

You feel frequent extra heartbeats (more than 6 per minute or coming in runs of 3 or more).
You have risk factors for heart disease like high cholesterol, diabetes, or high blood pressure.
You have new or different heart palpitations.
Your pulse is more than 100 beats per minute (without exercise, anxiety, or fever).

According to MedlinePlus it is also important to keep a record of how often you have palpitations, when they happen, how long they last, your heart rate at the time of the palpitations, and what you are feeling at the time. Bring your log book to your doctor so that they can figure out what may be causing your heart palpitations, how serious it is, and perhaps the cause.

If you have never had heart palpitations before, bring them to the attention of your doctor. He or she will do a work up to determine the cause and whether they are treatable or not. If your palpitations have just started up for the first time, please see your doctor as soon as possible so that you can find out if they are serious or not. Usually, heart palpitations are not serious.

For information about how to naturally and easily relieve heart palpitation symptoms, please visit my site at http://www.heartpalp.com.

Steve Daugherty
Life Coach
Encino, Ca, USA
http://www.heartpalp.com