Palpitations: Causes and How to Overcome It
When you place one hand on your chest, you can feel a heartbeat. However, under certain conditions, the heartbeat can be felt without you having to pay close attention. The condition you are experiencing is palpitations, aka heart palpitations. So, what are the symptoms? Then, what is the cause and how to solve it? Come on, find out the answer in the following review.
What are the signs and symptoms of a palpitations (palpitations)?
Heart palpitations (palpitations) is a condition when you feel an unusually strong heartbeat. a common condition that can happen to anyone, even at any age. However, it most commonly affects people who are easily stressed or anxious and who have heart disease.
There are several signs that indicate you are experiencing palpitations (palpitations), typical symptoms are:
- Your chest is pounding very quickly and can be felt in your throat or neck.
- The heart can also beat slower than usual, but the pounding is very pronounced in your chest.
- A pounding heart can be described as a loud knock around the chest.
Every person is very likely to experience different symptoms. In fact, there are also those who feel other symptoms that are not mentioned above. Symptoms of a palpitations (palpitations) can occur when you are active or resting.
Symptoms of a palpitations (palpitations) that occur infrequently or last for a short time (within seconds) are usually nothing to worry about. However, that does not mean you can take this condition lightly.
Especially if the heartbeat that you feel occurs continuously or gets worse, you should immediately get a doctor’s examination. Moreover, if you also experience symptoms of heart disease, as quoted from the Mayo Clinic page.
- Discomfort, such as chest pain.
- Very dizzy head or fainting.
- Severe shortness of breath.
If you, a family member, or a friend experiences any of the above symptoms, seek medical help immediately. The reason is, if left untreated it can cause complications. Some of the complications of palpitations that can occur are:
- Fainting. A fast heartbeat makes your blood pressure drop so it can make you lose consciousness.
- Cardiac arrest. Abnormal heartbeats can be life-threatening because they cause cardiac arrest.
- Stroke. If this condition is caused by problems with the chambers of the heart, blood will clot. These blood clots can break off, clogging an artery in the brain, causing a stroke.
- Heart failure. An abnormal heartbeat makes the heart not pump blood efficiently, which can lead to heart failure.
What causes palpitations?
There are many reasons that can make you experience a pounding pulse (palpitations). Although it attacks the heart organ, not all causes are directly related to this organ. The following are the causes of heart palpitations.
1. The condition of the heart organ
Disorders of the heart that can cause palpitations are:
- Arrhythmias (heart rhythm disturbances) can cause palpitations. The causes can be differentiated according to the location of the problem, such as atrial fibriation, supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), and ventricular tachycardia.
- Disorders of the heart valve, such as a prolapsed mitral valve (its position sags downward).
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (the heart muscle and heart walls become enlarged and thickened).
- Congenital heart disease (birth defects that affect the normal workings of the heart).
2. Emotional condition
Don’t get me wrong, the emotional condition inside can also cause your heart to beat irregularly, such as:
- Stressed and too emotional.
- Nervous or too happy
- Panic or fear.
3. Hormonal changes
In addition to the two previous factors, hormonal changes in the body also contribute to palpitations, including:
- Menstrual period.
- Pregnancy.
- Before or during menopause.
Sometimes, an erratic heart palpitations that occur during pregnancy can be a sign of anemia (lack of blood).
4. Consumption of drugs
Pay attention to what drugs you are regularly taking. Because certain drugs can cause an erratic heartbeat, namely:
5. Certain body conditions
Body conditions can underlie irregular heartbeats, including:
- An overactive thyroid gland produces thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism).
- People who have diabetes and experience very low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia).
- Certain types of anemia that affect red blood cells.
- Dehydration (condition of the body lack of fluids).
6. Lifestyle
Lifestyle habits are no less responsible for heart palpitations, such as:
- Too much caffeine consumption (generally in tea, coffee, and energy drinks)
- Drinking too much alcohol
- Lack of sleep
- Smoke
- Do strenuous exercise
- Using illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and amphetamines)
- Eating too much spicy food
So, how do you deal with palpitations?
In most cases palpitations are actually harmless, and can heal on their own without special treatment. But sometimes, this palpitations can also lead to more serious medical conditions.
In order to determine the underlying cause of dangerous palpitations or not, the doctor will ask you to do an electrocardiography (EKG) test or to monitor this beating heart with a portable device called a holter monitor.
You can place this tool around your neck or waist for 24 to 48 hours. The electrodes on this device will connect your chest to a monitor cable to record heart rhythm.
If you are proven that you have serious palpitations, the doctor will perform certain treatments according to your health condition to reduce the symptoms.
The following are various medications to treat palpitations that your doctor may recommend.
1. Home remedies
The causes of heart palpitations are very diverse. Usually, home remedies will be used as initial treatment. If it is not effective, then turn to doctor treatment. Some of the treatments for dealing with palpitations are:
- Reduce the stress you feel by trying relaxation techniques, such as meditation, yoga, and breathing and improving sleep quality.
- Avoid foods or drinks that contain stimulants, such as drinking too much coffee, drinking too much energy drinks, or smoking.
- Avoid drugs whose side effects cause heart palpitations, such as amphetamines.
2. Doctor’s treatment
If the home remedies are not effective enough for heart palpitations, your doctor will recommend other treatments that match the cause, such as:
- If it is related to heart disease, the doctor will prescribe medication for arrhythmias. Additionally, you may need to undergo a catheter ablation procedure (inserting one or more catheters through a vein into your heart) or having an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) device.
- If the palpitations are related to mental problems, the doctor will provide counseling, psychiatric therapy, or drugs that can relieve symptoms of palpitations.
- If it is caused by hyperthyroidism, your doctor will prescribe antithyroid drugs, beta blockers, and radioactive iodine. If this does not work, a thyroidectomy will be performed, which is the surgical removal of the thyroid gland.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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Heart palpitations – Symptoms and causes. (2020, April 16). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-palpitations/symptoms-causes/syc-20373196 [Accessed on October 26th, 2021]
When to evaluate heart palpitations. Johns Hopkins Medicine, based in Baltimore, Maryland. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/when-to-evaluate-heart-palpitations [Accessed on October 26th, 2021]
Harvard Health Publishing. (2019, September 24). Skipping a beat – the surprise of heart palpitations. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-disease-overview/skipping-a-beat–the-surprise-of-palpitations [Accessed on October 26th, 2021]
Heart arrhythmia – Diagnosis and treatment – Mayo Clinic. (2020, August 9). Mayo Clinic – Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-arrhythmia/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20350674 [Accessed on October 26th, 2021]
Hyperthyroidism – Diagnosis and treatment – Mayo Clinic. (2020, January 7). Mayo Clinic – Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyperthyroidism/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373665 [Accessed on October 26th, 2021]
Heart palpitations prevention. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17084-heart-palpitations/prevention [Accessed on October 26th, 2021]
