It is not a disease but rather a symptom of heart palpitations - Enab Baladi

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What is meant by heart palpitations?

Heart palpitation is defined as a sudden feeling of the heartbeat accelerating, increasing its strength, or changing its nature to become irregular, and this condition is represented by the patient’s feeling of rapid fluttering or recurring pounding in the chest, throat or neck area.

Palpitations can happen at any time, even if the person is sitting or doing their usual daily activities, and they may go away spontaneously without treatment.

Although frequent heart palpitations cause anxiety and panic in people, it is not necessarily associated with a health problem in the heart. In some cases, its occurrence may be associated with other health problems that are not related to the heart, and in most cases it does not pose a great danger and does not harm the patient.

It should be noted that heart palpitations are very common, affecting both sexes of all age groups, including children and adolescents, and it is not considered a disease in itself, but rather a symptom of many physiological or pathological conditions.

What are the symptoms of heart palpitations?

The patient who suffers from palpitations feels as if his heart is fluttering or beating strongly or quickly, or as if his heart skips some beats, or he may feel palpitations as a recurring pounding in the chest or neck.

Other symptoms of heart palpitations include: a general feeling of restlessness, chest pain, light-headedness, dizziness or fainting, shortness of breath, excessive sweating, and a feeling of fullness in the throat or neck.

What causes heart palpitations?

There are many causes of heart palpitations, which can be divided into groups:

First: Lifestyle-related causes. The causes and risk factors associated with the lifestyle followed are very common, most notably:

- Doing strenuous exercise.

Not getting enough rest and sleep.

Wrong nutritional and health habits, such as eating spicy foods, drinking large amounts of coffee or caffeinated drinks, drinking alcohol or energy drinks, as well as smoking.

Emotional or psychological causes clearly affect the heartbeat and its regularity, and may cause palpitations, the most prominent of these are nervous factors or excitement, anxiety, tension, and panic attacks.

Second: Medications. Some types of medications cause heart palpitations, and the most prominent drug groups that may cause this are:

Medicines used to treat asthma such as salbutamol and ipratropium bromide.

Medicines used to treat high blood pressure, such as hydralazine and minoxidil.

Antihistamines such as terfenadine.

Antibiotics such as clarithromycin and erythromycin.

Antidepressants such as citalopram and escitalopram.

Antifungals such as itraconazole.

Third: Hormonal changes, the hormonal changes that women experience during different age stages, such as pre-menopause, during and after menopause, and cases of severe vaginal bleeding, all of which may cause palpitations, as well as in the case of pregnancy as a result of hormonal and physiological changes, and an attempt The heart adapts to the need to increase blood flow to the uterus and fetus The heartbeat may become irregular or palpitable.

Fourth: Heart problems, heart palpitations may occur simultaneously with other types of heart diseases, and some of these diseases may be serious and require treatment, and these diseases include:

Heart valve problems, such as mitral valve prolapse or prolapse.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Heart failure, which means the inability of the heart to perform its function properly.

Congenital heart defects.

Previous heart attack.

Coronary vascular disease.

Causes related to arrhythmia, and the most common types of arrhythmias are:

Immature atrial beats and immature ventricular beats, and in these two cases the person feels as if the heart has stopped or skipped some beats, and immature beats cannot be felt, but what is really felt are the following natural beats that are stronger than usual, and these The condition is harmless.

Atrial fibrillation, which means a fast and irregular heartbeat.

Atrial flutter, which is one of the problems of arrhythmia, which is rapid and regular, or fast and irregular.

Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) occurs most commonly in healthy young men and is characterized by an abnormally rapid regular rhythm.

Ventricular tachycardia (VT), which is the most dangerous type of heart rhythm disorder, and is characterized by its rapid and regular rhythm, and the possibility of dizziness or fainting with it.

Fifth: Causes related to the digestive system, among the most prominent causes of palpitations related to the digestive system:

Eat fatty meals rich in fat, sugar, or carbohydrates.

Eating certain types of food, such as those rich in monosodium glutamate, nitrate, or sodium.

- Gallstones.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease.

- Indigestion.

- pancreatitis.

peptic ulcer

Sixth: Causes related to the respiratory system, the most prominent of these disorders are:

Acute bronchitis.

Asthma

Bronchiolitis, which is one of the common types of viral infections during the winter that usually affects young children and infants, as the inflammation causes congestion and inflammation in the bronchioles.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a chronic disease that affects the respiratory system, and smoking is the main cause of its occurrence.

- Pneumonia.

Collapse of the lungs caused by air leakage into the space between the lung and the thoracic septum, which pushes the air out of the lung and causes it to shrink.

Pulmonary edema, which is caused by fluid buildup in the lungs.

Pulmonary embolism, when a blood clot becomes lodged in an artery in the lung.

Seventh: Other medical conditions:

An overactive thyroid gland.

- Anemia.

A high body temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or more.

Low blood sugar level, which occurs most commonly in people with diabetes.

Orthostatic hypotension.

- Drought.

blood loss

- Genetic factors.

Low level of oxygen in the blood.

Disruption of the normal levels of electrolytes in the body.

Low level of carbon dioxide in the blood.

Shock, which is one of the cases in which the body does not get what it needs from the blood, which threatens life.

Trauma or injuries.

Obesity and overweight.

Pheochromocytoma, a rare type of tumor that affects the adrenal gland.

- heart attack.

Aortic dissection, which means bleeding in the wall of the main artery of the body.

Heart attack or myocardial infarction.

Pericarditis, which is the membrane or sac that surrounds the heart.

What complications can result from palpitations?

Fainting: Heart palpitations can lead to low blood pressure, which may cause fainting.

Cardiac arrest: If the heart palpitations are caused by an arrhythmia, but cardiac arrest caused by palpitations is rare.

Stroke: If the heart palpitations are caused by atrial fibrillation.

Cardiac arrest: Heart palpitations caused by an arrhythmia can cause blood to pump ineffectively for a long time, which can lead to cardiac arrest.

How is heart palpitations diagnosed?

It may be difficult for the doctor to determine the causes that lead to the occurrence of heart palpitations in the patient, especially in the absence of palpitations during a visit to the doctor’s office, but it is possible to go through the questioning of the patient and take information related to his heart palpitations, such as the time and duration of the palpitations and how he felt during the meantime and what activities he was He exercises it when his heart palpitations start, in addition to reviewing the patient’s medical history, diet, medications he takes and herbal products he takes. Heart palpitations are likely to be associated with abnormal heart rhythms if the patient suffers from one of the following conditions:

He has major risk factors that make him vulnerable to heart disease.

He suffers from heart disease.

He suffers from an irregular heartbeat.

He suffers from valvular heart disease.

Some laboratory tests, such as blood and urine tests, are performed. Other diagnostic tests are also recommended, including:

Electrocardiogram (ECG): A test that records the details of heart rate, rhythm, and rhythm, and may be done during rest periods, or while using a treadmill, called a heart stress test, or during a long period using a “Holter” device. It is a portable, wearable device that records the ECG continuously from 24 to 72 hours, and some modern smart watches are equipped with the ECG monitoring feature, and a tilt test may be performed, which is a test aimed at knowing the effect of a change in body position on the rate and regularity of the heartbeat .

Chest X-ray.

echocardiography, or echocardiography.

Electrophysiological study of the heart (EPS): In which the electrical activity of the heart is recorded and its response to certain stimuli. This procedure involves inserting a catheter into the body and directing it to the heart.

What are the cases that require a doctor's visit?

Usually, palpitations do not need to be evaluated if they are rare or persist for only a few seconds, but when there is a history of heart disease or the palpitations are frequent or worsening or accompanied by other symptoms, a doctor should be consulted to determine the cause and give the necessary treatment, but there are cases that require emergency medical care If the heart palpitations are accompanied by the following:

Tightness or pain in the chest area. p

fainting

Severe shortness of breath.

severe dizziness

How is heart palpitations treated?

The choice of the best treatment method depends on the causes of the palpitations. If the heart palpitations are related to certain foods or activities that provoke it, the patient must avoid them and do not need any treatment. If the palpitations are caused by heart disease, abnormal heart rhythm, or another health problem, treatment is given. Appropriate depending on the case, but in general and whatever the cause of palpitations, the patient is advised to follow the following recommendations:

Reducing the level of stress and psychological tension, and relaxation techniques such as deep breathing exercises or “yoga” can be tried.

Refrain from drinking alcohol, stimulants or drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines.

Limit caffeinated drinks.

Avoid smoking in all its forms.