What Causes Heart Palpitations? Its Symptoms & Risk Factors

Here are some details about what causes heart palpitations that you probably don’t know yet.

WHAT CAUSES HEART PALPITATIONS – Most of us have surely suffered from palpitation and here are the causes behind this incident.

Johns Hopkins Medicine defined palpitations as “characterized as a general or heightened awareness of your own heartbeat”. It could be too fast, too slow, or otherwise irregular.

You can feel your heart racing, jumping, fluttering, or skipping a beat and this kind of sensation can be felt in the chest or neck.

This may occur while activity or during rest.

Heart Palpitations
Photo lifted from Arizona Urology

Among the common causes are:

  • strenuous exercise
  • lack of sleep
  • stress and anxiety
  • medicines 
  • alcohol
  • caffeine
  • nicotine

Going through hormonal changes associated with menstruation, pregnancy, or menopause may also cause this. This may also be a result of a range of heart arrhythmias like the following:

  1. Supraventricular tachycardia – the rapid beating originates in the lower heart chambers
  2. Atrial fibrillation – this is the most common type of arrhythmia that can possibly affect the blood flow to the ventricles and there’s a high risk that it could lead to serious clotting conditions or stroke
  3. Ventricular tachycardia – the type of arrhythmia that can cause loss of consciousness, cardiac arrest, or sudden death

According to a post from Mayo Clinic, the risk factors are:

  • Stress
  • Anxiety disorder or panic attack
  • Pregnancy
  • Certain medicines
  • Hyperthyroidism
  • Other heart problems (irregular heartbeats, structural heart changes, previous heart attack, or previous heart surgery)

The treatment of this condition will depend on what causes it. But oftentimes, palpitations are harmless and can go away on their own.

The best thing to do to prevent it is to avoid the triggers or do some techniques such as easing your stress, cutting out certain foods and drinks, avoiding medications, and other lifestyle changes.

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