Heart palpitations: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Heart palpitation is a condition which causes you to become aware of your own heartbeats. It could be termed as an abnormality of heartbeat. Heart palpitation is a common situation that everyone experiences but when it happens frequently, it’s more likely a problem that should be investigated by a doctor.

Causes of heart palpitation

The most common causes of heart palpitation are alcohol, smoking, caffeine, panic attacks and drugs. The unusual causes of palpitations are ectopic beat or otherwise known as cardiac ectopy and diseases. Heart palpitation also occurs during blood loss, while exercising that creates shortage of oxygen in the body, an injury resulting in excessive pain and when anti-depressants are consumed.

Symptoms of heart palpitations

A person experiencing heart palpitations is not aware of anything happening in the surrounding but fully aware of only his own heartbeats. Some symptoms of palpitations are either momentary or prolonged. Common symptoms are shortness of breath, dizziness, pain in arms and legs that lasts for more than few hours and blackouts that requires medical examination.

People who have been experiencing blackouts or near blackouts, should take it seriously and consult a doctor immediately as blackouts often indicate presence of a heart disease.

Diagnosis of heart palpitations

It’s not easy to diagnose palpitations. When you visit a doctor you may not be experiencing palpitations and you will not be able to reproduce the conditions under which palpitations occur to you. In most cases, ECG and blood tests are conducted for diagnosis. Some patients are recommended longer ECG monitoring which usually lasts for 24 hours or longer and a certain type of ECG monitoring device is used to record the abnormal cardiac rhythm for further analysis. ECG is particularly helpful in findings a heart murmur or an abnormality of heartbeat that could point to the probable diagnosis.

Treatment of heart palpitations

The treatment of palpitation depends entirely on the underlying causes. Some patients experience palpitations when they consume anti-depressants. In this case, the treatment requires lower consumption of anti-depressants. Likewise, some patients experience palpitations when they consume coffee and hence the treatment requires caffeine intake reduction. Depending on the blood test results, the required treatment is given to the patients.

If palpitations occurs with blackouts or near blackouts, it should be taken seriously and a doctor must be consulted immediately.