Heart palpitations are when your heartbeat becomes more noticeable. They're usually harmless, but get help if you keep getting them or you also have other symptoms. When you have heart palpitations, your heartbeat feels uncomfortable or unusual. You may feel it in your chest, neck or throat. Your heartbeat may
feel like it is: Heart palpitations can last seconds, minutes or longer. Heart palpitations are common and not usually a sign
of anything serious. Common causes include: Sometimes heart palpitations can be a sign you're going through the
menopause. Some people get them during pregnancy. Less often, they can be caused by a condition such as iron deficiency anaemia, an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) or a
heart rhythm problem (arrhythmia).What heart palpitations feel like
Causes of heart palpitations
Non-urgent advice: See a GP if:
You have heart palpitations and:
- they keep coming back or they're getting worse
- they last longer than a few minutes
- you have a heart condition
- you have a history of heart problems in your family
Immediate action required: Call 999 or go to A&E if:
You currently have heart palpitations with any of these symptoms:
- chest pain
- shortness of breath
- feeling faint or fainting
Find your nearest A&E
Information:
If you've had these symptoms but they've now stopped, ask your GP surgery for an urgent appointment, call 111 or get help from 111 online.
Treatment for heart palpitations
Treatment for heart palpitations depends on the cause. They often do not need to be treated.
Avoiding things that can trigger palpitations, such as stress, smoking, caffeine and alcohol, can help.
You may have an electrocardiogram (ECG) to help find out what the cause might be. This is a test where small pads are stuck to your skin to check the electrical signals coming from your heart.
If your palpitations are caused by a heart problem, you may need medicines or a procedure to help correct your heartbeat.
Page last reviewed: 07 June 2022
Next review due: 07 June 2025
Forget what the love songs tell you: There’s nothing exciting about your heart skipping a beat. In fact, when your heart doesn’t beat normally, its electrical system is
likely out of step. When your heart beats too fast, too slow, or skips irregularly, it is called arrhythmia. If your heart’s ever skipped a beat, you’ve had what are called heart palpitations.
It might feel like your heart is throbbing, pounding, or fluttering. Or you simply might not feel well. Think of a palpitation as a “hiccup” for your heart. It beats on schedule, and then hiccup! A brief pause, and you’re back to normal. Until it happens again. Luckily, for most people, these hiccups happen only once in a while. But other people can have dozens of uncomfortable palpitations each day. Some can be so strong they feel like a heart attack. Heart palpitations can happen for no reason. Other times, they’re brought on by certain triggers, including some of the following: You can’t always prepare for heart palpitations. But to head them off, you can try simple lifestyle changes, like: If you think you’re having an attack, try these to get your heartbeat back
to normal: If you’re short of breath, dizzy, have chest pains, or faint, talk to your doctor right away. These could be signs of serious heart disease. The normal heart averages between 60 and 100 beats per minute. When your heart beats faster than this, you have a condition called tachycardia. When your heart races, it’s working too hard. It doesn’t have enough time to fill with blood or pump it to the rest of your body. You might have heart palpitations or chest
pain. You may also feel dizzy or faint.Skipping a Beat
Causes
What to Do
When to Call a Doctor
What If Your Heart Races?
If you have heart disease or some types of lung disease, your chances of having tachycardia could be higher than normal. If you were born with an abnormal heart
structure, this is called a congenital heart defect, and it might increase your odds as well. Other factors, like fever, dehydration, or drinking too much caffeine, can also make your heart race. Your doctor may suggest
medical treatment if your heart races too often or it lasts too long. In the meantime, they might recommend the following things to slow it down: If you faint, have trouble breathing, or have chest pain that lasts longer than a few minutes, talk to your doctor right away or call 911. Sometimes our hearts beat slower than 60 beats per minute. This is called bradycardia. For some people, like athletes and healthy, young adults, this heart rate could be normal. But for others, it could cause your brain and other organs to not get enough oxygen to function like they should. If that’s the case, you may feel faint, dizzy, weak, or
short of breath. You might also have chest pains, memory problems, or tire easily. Bradycardia is caused by a problem with your heart’s electrical system. Your heart simply isn’t getting the signal to beat properly. This can happen for some or all of the following reasons: There are really no
home treatments for a slow heartbeat. Your doctor will likely need to fix the underlying cause in order to ease your symptoms and raise your heart rate so your body gets the blood it needs. Treatments could include medications or a pacemaker.Causes
How to Slow It Down
When to Call a Doctor
When Your Heart Rate Slows
Causes
How to Fix the Signals
When to Call a Doctor
Seek medical help right away or call 911 if you faint, have a hard time breathing, or have chest pain that lasts more than a few minutes.