After your 20-minute run, you feel your heart pounding loudly. Your heart starts racing when you think "calculus exam tomorrow." These are heart palpitations, a common symptom and not always attributed to conditions that lead to death.
Definition
Having heart palpitations is the unusual awareness and feeling of your heart beating irregularly or too strongly.
Occurrence
Heart palpitations can occur any time of day or night and last from a few seconds to hours.
Cause
Common causes of heart palpitations include arrhythmia, exercise, anxiety or stress, fever, caffeine, overactive thyroid, anemia, hyperventilation, lack of oxygen in blood, medications or recreational drugs, heart disease, pregnancy, and mitral valve prolapse.
Health Effects
Irregular heartbeats do not impose damage on the heart. Possible but rare implications of a rapid heart rate over an extended period of time can lead to heart enlargement or heart failure.
Treatment
If you are concerned about your heart palpitations, talk to your medical doctor. Your doctor can run tests and determine the cause while formulating possible treatments if any.
Self-Treatment
Avoid palpitations by avoiding caffeinated drinks including coffee and soda. Eat a balanced diet to supplement possible lacks of nutrients and electrolytes. To treat stress-induced palpitations, learn breathing techniques and take up yoga or tai chi to calm you and reduce stress.
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