Understanding Heart Palpitations: Causes, Symptoms & When to Worry

Many people experience a feeling of their heart racing away from them, or feel like they are "skipping a beat." A number of factors can cause heart palpitations or flutters, from too much java to serious heart disease.

What is a Palpitation?

• A palpitation can occur when your heart is beating too fast (tachycardia), beating too slow (bradycardia), or skipping a beat (PVC). Heart blocks can occur, causing the top part of the heart, the atria to beat faster than the bottom chamber, the ventricle; or when there is a disturbance in the electrical pathway of the heart.

What Causes Palpitations or Flutter?

• Many times, heart palpitations are caused by simple external factors, such as stress, caffeine, lack of sleep, anxiety, or nicotine. Illicit drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, or other stimulants can cause not only palpitations, but actual heart attacks.

When Is It Serious?

• While many fluttering feelings are mild, rare, and go right away, medical attention should always be sought for palpitations. They are warning signs, even when caused by a stimulant. Palpitations be a sign of heart disease and can compromise blood flow to the heart and the rest of the vital organs.

How to Diagnose Palpitations

• Palpitations and flutters may be diagnosed by medical history, physical examination, EKG, or wearing a 24-hour heart monitor. A patient may be admitted to the hospital for tests to diagnose heart blockage, heart attacks, or for treatment measures.

Treatment for Palpitations and Flutters

• The treatment for palpitations is usually based on the cause. Opening up a blocked artery in the heart, inserting a pacemaker, or giving medication to speed up or slow down the heart beat may be indicated. Occasionally, patients will require more aggressive treatment, such as an internal defibrillator to shock hearts that have life-threatening abnormal rhythms.