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The concept: palpitations or, as some people say, excessive heartbeat, is not an unambiguous concept. According to some, it is an excessive beating or an excessive increase (acceleration) of its frequency – which we deal with in paroxysmal tachycardia, states of increased nervous excitability and emotions, or when the heart rate is only slightly changed, but the person feels the work of the heart as particularly intense contractions.
What is palpitations?
Heart palpitations is a condition that we can talk about when the heart beats too fast and the frequency of its beats is changed and significantly increased. A healthy person’s heart beats at a rate of about 60-100 beats per minute; the heart of an athlete or a person taking preparations that slow down the heartbeat beats at a rate of 55 beats per minute. When the pace is more than 100 beats per minute, we are talking about tachycardia.
Palpitations are changes in the frequency of the heartbeat accompanied by an unpleasant sensation. It occurs in both healthy and sick people – in the first case it can be the result of stress, excessive physical exertion, emotions and taking medications. Heart palpitations can occur under the influence of external and internal factors. Pain occurs in the neck or chest area.
Symptoms of palpitations
Heart palpitations are manifested by an excessively fast or forceful heartbeat and causes general discomfort. Other symptoms listed by GPs include excessive sweating, fatigue, and rapid breathing. A person suffering from this ailment may also have trouble keeping balance. Fainting has also been reported in patients.
Patients who develop palpitations have problems with concentration, pale skin and act as if they drank an energy drink – contrary to appearances, the heart rhythm may be normal. Heart palpitations are felt in the neck and throat. It is worth taking note of the time of any ailments in order to inform the doctor about it later – it will make it easier to diagnose and find the causes of the disease.
Among congenital heart diseases related to conduction disturbances in the area of the heart muscle, we can mention:
- Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome;
- Brugada disease;
- long QT syndrome;
- Lown-Ganong-Levine syndrome.
These diseases can lead to sudden cardiac arrest or ventricular tachycardia. Unfortunately, the diseases often do not give any previous symptoms.
The causes of heart palpitations
One of the main causes of heart palpitations is heart rhythm disturbances. Sometimes palpitations result from a poor mental state and occur during panic attacks, depression, neurosis and various anxiety states. People who live under constant stress often suffer from heart palpitations at night. The disease can be one of the first symptoms of e.g. pericarditis and heart failure.
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The cause of heart palpitations in a pregnant woman may be changes occurring in the body. A pregnant woman’s blood volume increases, and especially if she is overweight – in this state her heart is forced to work harder to maintain normal blood pressure. Moreover, childbirth itself is a real challenge for a woman. In a woman, heart palpitations can also be related to hormones, but also to an overactive thyroid gland.
Should you be concerned about heart palpitations?
If your heart palpitations occur intermittently and it soon subsides, this shouldn’t be a cause for concern. It is not uncommon to simply result from coffee withdrawal or follow an emotional event. If heart palpitations occur solely for these reasons, it is worth learning about methods of relieving stress – these can be breathing exercises, meditation / prayer or listening to relaxing music.
Heart palpitations in some ailments
Arrhythmia is a disorder of the heart where the organ works irregularly (e.g. too fast or too slow). Its causes include ischemic heart disease, hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart valve disease or degeneration of the heart muscle. One of the main symptoms of the disease is palpitations – patients suffering from arrhythmia suffer from atrial fibrillation.
Neurosis – palpitations are often a symptom of neurosis, a common disorder. It is usually afflicted by people living under constant stress – neurosis is manifested by crushing in the chest and uneven, stabbing heartbeat. People suffering from neurosis also often complain of shortness of breath, trouble sleeping and chronic headaches. Try the EKO Tea for Nervous Men, available at Medonet Market. Its composition includes: motherwort, melilot, yarrow, heather flower, hawthorn fruit, hop cones, valerian root, lemon balm leaf, rose petals.
Hypoglycemia – This is a condition that occurs in diabetics who are treated with blood sugar lowering drugs or insulin. Hypoglycemia is a disease manifested by low blood glucose levels – its value is below 70 mg / dl. The symptoms of hypoglycaemia include fast heart beat (palpitations) and excessive sweating, headache, feeling hungry and dilated pupils.
Heart palpitations are associated mainly with cardiovascular diseases, but it can also be associated with endocrine disorders – hormones are responsible for regulating the work of various organs, including the heart. For example, during the menopause, the function of the ovaries ceases and there are bouts of hot and cold. Menopause may also be accompanied by a rapid heartbeat, sometimes considered a symptom of Cushing’s syndrome.
Heart palpitations – diagnosis
Patients experiencing a strong heartbeat or other symptoms of palpitations should consult their primary care physician, who will assess the need for an appointment with a cardiologist or hypertensiologist. One of the basic tests is the EKG, which allows the doctor to determine whether there is a strong or weak heartbeat – an EKG also gives information about the structure of the heart. It can also possibly rule out arrhythmia.
Do the ECG yourself at home. Use a home EKG holter and take care of a healthy heart. Order the device from haloDoctor and monitor the test results for 7 or 14 days.
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How To Treat Heart Palpitations?
A patient diagnosed with a sudden, rapid heartbeat should usually not discontinue treatment, unless it is a one-off condition. For people with less frequent symptoms, treatment will not be necessary. Patients with chronic palpitations that interfere with their normal functioning can also benefit from the help of a psychologist and therapist if the cause of the disease is stress.
In some cases, the doctor may suggest drug treatment to reduce nervous excitability. When it turns out that a faster heartbeat may be a symptom of, for example, an organic disease or an ion disorder, then the treatment strategy will focus on eliminating the causes of non-symptoms – the decision on treatment methods is made by a specialist based on the examinations and health condition of the patient.
Strong heartbeats – what does this mean?
Strong heartbeats may have an emotional background, be a symptom of a heart disease or a disease of one of the systems. Patients often compare this feeling to a hitting or even claim that the heart is about to “pop out” of the chest. When strong heartbeats are accompanied by a high pulse, it is a stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. It is perfectly normal for a person to feel a rapid heartbeat after strenuous exercise.
Read also: Palpitations – an epidemic of the XNUMXst century