“Is heart palpitation a normal feeling or is it a medical concern?”
Every time we feel anxious, there is a sense of fluttering and heavy pumping in the heart. I have always thought of heart palpitations to be associated with anxiety or certain feelings. However, i recently read heart palpitations could be a sign of something serious. When does it become a health concern and are there other signs to distinguish it from the normal palpitations we feel?
5 Answers
Julia G. Ansari
Cardiologist
Palpitation can occur when there is anxiety and increased release of epinephrine/norepinphrine, hyperthyroidism, infection/fever, anemia, pregnancy and heart arrhythmia (atrial flutter, fibrillation, PVC, PAC, NSVT), so depending on what it is, it can be serious or not serious.
Heart palpitations are normal for most people. An average person can experience up to 1% of their normal heart beats to be abnormal. That being said there are normal palpitations and abnormal palpitations. Based on description of the palpitations we can make a very strong guesstimate of what your palpitations are. If you have concerns you can see a cardiologist or your primary and ask them to do an ECG and a holter monitor. If you don't want to waste time you can go online and purchase a device called AliveCore Kardia. This device will link to your smartphone and make a recording of your heart rhythm not just tell you the rate. Once you have recording of your episodes cardiologist can tell you more accurately if your palpitations are concerning or not.
I would rather you error on the side of caution and get checked than to ignore symptoms
I would rather you error on the side of caution and get checked than to ignore symptoms
No quick answer here. Many people have "premature beats" which can cause palpitations and are generally not serious. But some palpitations are caused by serious rhythm disturbances. "Palpitations" just means you feel an irregular heart beat, but does not define what is causing it. Some palpitations reflect a serious concern and others do not. The best thing to do is talk to your doctor.
Yes it can but also from anxiety, best is to see a DR get a good history, physical, blood tests, an echocardiogram of the heart, a holter monitor, deponding on risks and the above results a diagnosis can be made.
You are right, it could be a manifestation of anxiety or an indication of a structural problem. First step would be to capture the fluttering with a monitor. If it lasts longer, or one feels faint during these episodes, there would be concern. Then age, medical and medication history all interplay and help determine the seriousness.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
