Joshua D. Stern, MD, clinical associate of medicine and cardiac electrophysiologist at Penn Medicine, discusses what causes heart palpitations and when you should to seek medical attention.
Has your heart ever skipped a beat? Whether it was because you were alarmed or in love, the feeling of your heart fluttering is a common one and does not usually require medical attention. The sensation of abnormal heartbeats, also known as heart palpitations, happens to most people at some point in their lives.
Common causes of heart palpitations:
- Intense emotions like anxiety, stress or fear
- Prescription drugs for asthma, thyroid disease, high blood pressure or cardiac arrhythmia
- Non-prescription drugs including pseudoephedrine (decongestant), caffeine and nicotine
- Strenuous exercise
- Hormone changes
- Fever
- Hyperventilation
- Anemia
- Overactive thyroid
- Heart valve disease
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Talk to a doctor if your heart palpitations:- Are accompanied by a racing heart beat
- Last more than a few seconds
- Occur frequently
- Have become bothersome
Seek immediate medical attention if your palpitations are accompanied by:
- Lightheadedness
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Passing out
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