What causes heart palpitations?
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Dr. Joshua D. Stern of Penn Medicine answered:Has your heart ever skipped a beat? Whether it was because you were alarmed or in love, the feeling of your heart fluttering is a common one and does not usually require medical attention. The sensation of abnormal heartbeats, also known as heart palpitations, happens to most people at some point in their lives.
Common causes of heart palpitations:
- Intense emotions like anxiety, stress, or fear
- Prescription drugs for asthma, thyroid disease, high blood pressure, or cardiac arrhythmia
- Nonprescription drugs including pseudoephedrine (decongestant), caffeine, and nicotine
- Strenuous exercise
- Hormone changes
- Fever
- Hyperventilation
- Anemia
- Overactive thyroid
- Heart valve disease
Helpful? 3 people found this helpfulHas your heart ever skipped a beat? Whether it was because you were alarmed or in love, the feeling of your heart fluttering is a common one and does not usually require medical attention. The sensation of abnormal heartbeats, also known as heart... More -
Dr. William D. Knopf of Piedmont Heart Institute answered:Many things can cause palpitations. You may feel palpitations even when your heart is beating normally or somewhat faster than normal.
Most palpitations are harmless and often go away on their own. However, some palpitations are a sign of an actual heart problem. Sometimes, the cause of palpitations can't be found.
If you start having palpitations, see your doctor to have them checked.
Causes Not Related to Heart Problems
Strong Emotions
You may feel your heart pounding or racing during anxiety, fear, or stress. You also may have these feelings if you're having a panic attack.
Vigorous Physical Activity
Intense activity can make it feel as though your heart is beating too hard or fast, even though it's working normally. Intense activity also may cause an occasional premature (extra) heartbeat.
This answer from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has been reviewed and/or edited by Dr. William D. Knopf.
Helpful? 2 people found this helpfulMany things can cause palpitations. You may feel palpitations even when your heart is beating normally or somewhat faster than normal. Most palpitations are harmless and often go away on their own. However, some palpitations are a sign of an actual... More -
Dr. Anthony Komaroff answered:Palpitations are often described as a feeling that the heart is skipping, racing, or fluttering. Common causes of palpitations include stress or anxiety, strenuous exercise, fever, hormonal changes that occur with menstruation or menopause, or certain stimulant-type drugs, including caffeine, nicotine, weight-loss drugs, or pseudoephedrine (found in some over-the-counter cold and cough medications). But palpitations can also result from an irregular heartbeat or other electrical abnormality in the heart.Helpful? 2 people found this helpfulPalpitations are often described as a feeling that the heart is skipping, racing, or fluttering. Common causes of palpitations include stress or anxiety, strenuous exercise, fever, hormonal changes that occur with menstruation or menopause,... More -
Dr. Donald Rubenstein of Greenville Health System answered:A heart palpitation is a symptom typically caused by a sudden change in a person's heart rhythm. The timing changes in the heart beat results in sudden changes in how much blood is entering the heart chambers as well as how much blood is pushed out for those heart beats. The mind senses these size changes of the heart chambers as a sudden "skip", a "flutter", or a "hard" beat as it is commonly described.
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A heart palpitation is a symptom typically caused by a sudden change in a person's heart rhythm. The timing changes in the heart beat results in sudden changes in how much blood is entering the heart chambers as well as how much blood is pushed out... More
