Palpitations are heartbeat sensations that feel like your heart is pounding or racing. You may simply have an unpleasant awareness of your own heartbeat, or 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.
Causes
Palpitation of the heart may occur due to a variety of factors, most of which may not be related to the heart itself. Anything which increases the work load of the heart may bring on this condition. Some persons may experience palpitations when lying on the left side, because the heart is nearer the chest wall in that position. Many nervous persons suffer from this condition.
Unexplained palpitations, that occur for no apparent reason and become more frequent, can be due to many other medical conditions, some of which will need investigation and treatment. These illnesses include, but are not limited to, heart disease, anxiety disorders, drug abuse, as a side effect of certain medications and excessive alcohol consumption all of which can be detrimental to health and medical advice should be sought.
Drinking too much alcohol, stress or anxiety, certain medications, such as diet pills or thyroid hormone replacement, and certain over-the-counter medications and recreational drugs could provoke some heart palpitations.Some of conditions that can cause palpitations include serious illness or fever, nausea and vomiting, thyroid gland disease, anemia as condition in your number of red blood cells is less than normal, and heart disease. It is not so rare that lung disease and adrenal gland tumor, as well as hypoglycemia could provoke heart palpitations.
Symptoms
You may feel like your heart is racing, jumping, throbbing, or "fluttering" in your chest. You may feel like your heart has extra beats, stops for a short time, or skips a beat. Palpitations may be serious if you feel dizzy, confused (trouble thinking), light-headed, have trouble breathing, or faint (pass out). They may also be serious if you feel pain, pressure, or tightness in your chest, neck, jaw, arms, or upper back.
Home Care
Reducing stress and anxiety can help lessen the frequency or intensity of your heart palpitations. Try breathing exercises or deep relaxation (a step-by-step process of tensing and then relaxing every muscle group in your body) when palpitations occur. Practicing yoga or tai chi on a regular basis can reduce the frequency of your palpitations.
Patients with palpitations should try to keep a journal of when, where, and what circumstances surround their palpitations. They should learn how to take their pulse and document their pulse rate, whether the palpitations occur in isolation or in a pattern, and what associated symptoms exist, including lightheadedness, nausea, sweating, chest pain, or shortness of breath.
If heart palpitations become severe, antiarrhythmic medication can be injected intravenously. If this treatment fails, cardioversion may be required. Cardioversion is usually performed under a short general anaesthesia, and involves delivering an electric shock to the chest, which stops the abnormal rhythm and allows the normal rhythm to continue. |
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.goxart.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites