When palpitations are a cause for concern

#palpitations #concern

Palpitations (strong irregular beats) are an awareness of heartbeats that are benign most of the time and feel like a fluttering in the chest or as if the heart is skipping a beat. Normally, the pulse (heart rate) during the resting period is between 60-70 beats/minute.

Palpitations are frequent complaints of the patient’s presentation in the family doctor’s office, the patient feeling his heartbeat as abnormal, accelerated and/or irregular with a duration from a few seconds to a few minutes. He can feel them both in the chest/heart area, as well as in the neck or stomach area.

They do not represent a danger if they appear rarely, but if they occur often even when you are at rest, a medical consultation is recommended.

Causes of palpitations that are not related to heart disease:

– Stress
– Strong emotions
– Consumption of caffeine, nicotine, energizers, stimulants, alcohol
– Hormonal changes during menstruation, pregnancy or before menopause in the case of women
– Intense physical exercise
– Administering some medications: diet, asthma inhalers, antithyroid drugs, pseudoephedrine, etc
– Anxiety
– Panic attacks
– Depression
– Insufficient sleep
– Dehydration
– Intolerance to heat

Cardiac causes of palpitations:

– arrhythmias (atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia)
– structural changes of the heart
– heart attack
– heart operations
– arterial hypertension
– Takotsubo syndrome
– valvulopathies
– arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy
– heart failure

Other situations:
– Fever
– Severe bleeding
– Anemia
– Orthostatic hypotension
– Hyperkalemia
– Hypokalemia
– Hypoglycemia

Palpitations can appear at any time, the most common being:

1. Anxiety – in case of panic attacks, strong emotions, stressful situations
2. Fasting – after consuming certain foods – alcohol, prohibited substances
3. At night – people have a lower level of stress, at night they are not distracted by daily activities and are more attentive to their own body
4. Clinostatism – lying in bed
5. All the time – it may suggest the presence of a heart condition – a cardiological consultation is necessary
6. Pregnancy – heart rate and cardiac output are increased

To discover the causes of palpitations, the doctor talks with the patient and a physical examination is performed (listening to the heart using a stethoscope, inspection, palpation of the arterial pulse, blood pressure measurement, palpation of the thyroid gland, etc.) and a thorough history to identify a trigger factor in terms of lifestyle and diet.

Tests may include:

– Blood tests: blood count and ferritin to check the presence of anemia, thyroid hormones
– EKG – electrocardiogram to measure the electrical activity of the heart
– Holter monitoring – a portable device that continuously records the heart rate during daily activity
– Transthoracic echocardiography – to visualize the heart in dynamics and to detect problems related to blood flow and heart structure
– Exercise test – to see if palpitations are caused by exercise
– Electrophysiology study – if necessary, performed by a cardiologist specialized in arrhythmology

Palpitations are often accompanied by other symptoms, such as:

– Dizziness
– Vertigo
– Generalized weakness
– Loss of knowledge
– State of confusion
– Excessive sweating
– Dyspnea/breathing difficulties
– Pain in the chest, radiating to the left arm
– Pulse greater than 100 beats/minute

If the palpitations are accompanied by these symptoms, it may indicate a serious health problem and a quick medical evaluation is necessary!

Complications of palpitations can be life-threatening if there is an underlying condition, such as a stroke, heart attack, or heart failure.

Recommendations and useful tips

Prevention – strategies to reduce palpitations:

– Reducing the stress level
– Regular physical exercises
– Optimum hydration
– Limiting the consumption of alcohol, nicotine, stimulants
– Avoiding heavy meals before going to bed
– Sufficient rest
– Balanced and healthy diet
– Blood pressure and heart rate monitoring
– Relaxation exercises: yoga, meditation, calming activities, massage
– Carrying out some vagal maneuvers – cold showers, washing the face with cold water

Most of the time, palpitations are caused by the stress that every person feels these days. Stress has become the disease of the century and over time, becoming chronic, letting it take over, leading to various mineral and nutritional deficiencies, ultimately affecting the organs in turn.

That is why it is important to keep under control with different practices:

– Meditation
– Yoga
– Conscious breathing
– Cognitive-behavioral therapy
– Walks in nature
– Light physical exercises (walking briskly, jogging, walking)
– natural supplements

From the supplements category, the product Stress Management is a complex of vitamins B, C and magnesium bisglycinate that supports the nervous system and supports mental performance.

Also, regarding mineral deficiencies, Full Spectrum reduces fatigue and the feeling of exhaustion during demanding periods and offers antioxidant protection.

Health above all!

Bibliography:

https://www.healthline.com/health/heart-palpitations

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-palpitations/symptoms-causes/syc-20373196

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8905373/

https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/what-causes-heart-palpitations

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