Palpitations

What are palpitations?

When you feel like your heart is racing or beating much more quickly than usual, you’re experiencing heart palpitations. As well as feeling like your heart is beating too fast, you might also have sensations that your heart is :

• Pounding
• Fluttering
• Flip-flopping
• Skipping beats

Your palpitations may only last for a few seconds or for several minutes. If you have palpitations combined with other symptoms, such as chest pain or shortness of breath, you should seek immediate medical attention.

What causes palpitations?

Your heart palpitations could be caused by a number of factors. For example, strenuous exercise increases your heart rate and can create the feeling of a pounding or racing heart. Your heart rate might also change if you use caffeine, nicotine, other drugs, or have anxiety symptoms.

However, other medical factors, such as irregular heart valves, heart disease, or abnormal potassium levels, can also cause heart palpitations. If you frequently have palpitations, you should talk to the team at Coastal Heart Medical Group. When left untreated, the conditions that cause heart palpitations can lead to cardiac arrest, stroke, or heart failure.

How is the cause of palpitations diagnosed?

The team at Coastal Heart Medical Group assesses your heart palpitations and diagnoses the condition causing them with a physical exam and diagnostic tests, including electrocardiograms and echocardiograms.

During your exam, your doctor asks about your personal and family medical history as well as your lifestyle while listening to your heart and performing a physical exam. Your doctor is looking for clues about what could be causing your palpitations.

Electrocardiograms and echocardiograms provide information about your heart activity and function. Electrocardiograms monitor the electrical activity in your heart and echocardiograms use ultrasounds to create images of your heart, and the blood flow in and out of its chambers.

How are palpitations treated?

The team at Coastal Heart Medical Group offers customized treatments to address the condition causing your heart palpitations. Your treatment could be as simple as making some lifestyle adjustments like cutting caffeine, nicotine, and other stimulants out of your diet and reducing your stress levels.

If your palpitations are caused by arrhythmia or another cardiac issue, your doctor can prescribe medication to regulate your heartbeat or implant a pacemaker or cardioverter-defibrillator.

If you’re concerned about palpitations or your heart health, call Coastal Heart Medical Group or make an appointment online today.