Have you ever felt your heart suddenly flutter, pound, race or skip a beat?
These sensations are commonly referred to as heart palpitations. They can be surprising—especially when they seem to happen for no obvious reason—but experiencing a palpitation does not automatically mean something is seriously wrong with your heart.
Understanding when palpitations may deserve further evaluation can help you know what to do next.
People describe palpitations in different ways. You may feel as though your heart is beating unusually hard, beating rapidly, fluttering or briefly skipping a beat.
The sensation may be felt in your chest, throat or neck and can happen while you are active or at rest.
Because the sensation can come and go quickly, explaining exactly what happened to your physician can sometimes be difficult. Keeping track of when the symptoms occur, how long they last and what you were doing at the time may be helpful during your evaluation.
Not every palpitation is caused by heart disease.
Stress, strenuous exercise and stimulants such as caffeine can sometimes contribute to a racing or pounding heartbeat. Certain medications, hormone changes and other medical conditions may also play a role.
In some cases, however, palpitations are associated with an arrhythmia—an abnormal heart rhythm.
Determining the cause is one reason recurring symptoms are worth discussing with a healthcare professional rather than trying to diagnose them yourself.
Consider talking with your healthcare provider when palpitations are recurring, becoming more frequent, lasting longer than usual or affecting your everyday activities.
It is especially helpful to mention whether the symptoms occur during exercise, while resting, after consuming caffeine or at a particular time of day.
Your physician may also want to know whether you have previously been diagnosed with heart disease or have other cardiovascular risk factors.
Certain symptoms require more immediate attention.
Palpitations accompanied by chest pain or discomfort, fainting, severe shortness of breath or severe dizziness can indicate a more serious problem and should be treated as a medical emergency. Seek immediate medical care rather than waiting for a routine cardiology visit.
When in doubt about potentially life-threatening symptoms, call 911.
Your evaluation usually begins with your medical history and a discussion of your symptoms. Your physician may ask when the palpitations started, how often they happen, how long they last and whether anything seems to trigger them.
An EKG is commonly used to examine the heart’s electrical activity and rhythm. The challenge is that an EKG captures only a short period of time.
If your symptoms come and go, your heart may be beating normally by the time you arrive at the office.
That is where longer-term heart monitoring can become particularly useful.
A Holter monitor records the heart’s electrical activity continuously for an extended period while you perform your normal daily activities.
This gives your cardiologist a much longer window in which to identify potential rhythm abnormalities than a standard office EKG.
For symptoms that happen less frequently, an event recorder may be considered. These devices allow heart-rhythm information to be recorded over a longer period and can help your physician correlate symptoms with what your heart was doing at the time.
If testing identifies an abnormal rhythm, treatment depends on the specific type of arrhythmia, its cause, your symptoms and your overall health.
For some patients, monitoring may be appropriate. Others may require medication or specialized heart-rhythm treatment.
Baltimore Heart Associates provides evaluation and treatment for abnormal heart rhythms along with services including electrophysiology, Holter monitoring, event recording, catheter ablation, permanent pacemakers and implantable defibrillators.
The first step is understanding what is actually causing your symptoms.
An occasional unusual heartbeat does not necessarily signal a serious cardiovascular condition. At the same time, recurring or worsening symptoms deserve attention.
If you have been noticing racing, fluttering, pounding or irregular heartbeats, the cardiology team at Baltimore Heart Associates can help evaluate your symptoms and determine whether additional testing is appropriate.
Request an appointment at one of our convenient Baltimore-area locations to take the next step toward understanding your heart rhythm.
This article is intended for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Call 911 for symptoms of a medical emergency.