Heart Palpitations

What are heart palpitations?

Heart palpitations are fluttering, racing, or pounding heartbeats. They can also feel like your heart skips one or two beats. While the sensation of a heart palpitation can catch you off guard and cause concern, many of their underlying causes are not necessarily harmful to your health. 

Heart palpitations can happen at any time, often during periods of high stress or at times when your heart rate is already high, like while exercising. You may experience them often or hardly ever. Dr. Balachandran can help you explore reasons why you regularly experience heart palpitations. 

What causes heart palpitations?

Although many heart conditions can cause heart palpitations, those fluttering or irregular heartbeats aren’t always indicative of a cardiovascular concern. However, if you get them regularly, Dr. Balachandran will likely want to identify the underlying cause so he can treat it or rule out any possible heart problems. 

Your heart palpitations might come from:

• Anxiety or panic
• Stress
• Nutrient deficiency
• Caffeine
• Overactive thyroid
• Exercise
• Anemia
• Nicotine
• Alcohol
• Certain medications
• Atrial fibrillation

The wide majority of heart palpitations are not harmful, but you should get medical attention just in case the underlying cause needs treatment. 

How are heart palpitations diagnosed?

Dr. Balachandran offers several tests for heart palpitations at his office. He may request that you wear a Holter heart monitor for some time, usually around 30 days, which captures information about your heart rhythm. 

You must get an echocardiogram (ECG) before using a Holter monitor, which involves electrodes taped to your chest to monitor your heart rhythm. Sometimes an ECG doesn’t detect any heart rhythm problems but a Holter monitor does. 

How are heart palpitations treated?

Treating heart palpitations requires identifying their cause and targeting it accordingly. For example, if your heart palpitations come from too much caffeine use, you can try cutting back on caffeine. If your heart palpitations are from a nutrient deficiency, your physician might recommend taking nutritional supplements or adjusting your diet. 

Certain medications and procedures can treat causes of heart palpitations linked to heart problems, like an abnormal heart rhythm. Dr. Balachandran recommends and offers these treatments on a case-by-case basis. 

Call the office or book online today to schedule an appointment at Heart and Vascular Clinic for heart palpitations.