Heart palpitations can be brought on by exercise, medication or strong emotions such as anxiety, stress, excitement or fear. Heart palpitations are felt differently from person to person. Some people develop a perception of pulse irregularity, unease in the chest area, a flip-flop sensation in the chest, or a feeling that the heart has either stopped or skipped a beat. Most heart palpitations are harmless but in rare cases they can be signs of a serious heart condition called heart arrhythmia.
Exercise and Palpitations
Heart palpitations associated with exercise are normally felt either before or after exercise. A person does not normally experience palpitations during exercise because the heart rate rises, causing the extra heart beats to disappear. Once exercise has ceased, the heart begins to slow down and adrenalin levels remain at high levels for a short period of time, thus causing the palpitations to return.
Exercise for Diagnosis
Exercise treadmills are used in some cases to detect heart arrhythmias that occur during exertion. Exercise treadmills are equipped with a continuous EKG monitor that records the heart's activity during increased levels of exertion. This type of test is also helpful in determining if an individual may suffers from narrowing of the coronary arteries, which can limit oxygenated blood supply to the heart muscles during exercise.
Anxiety and Palpitations
Anxiety is a mental disorder that causes nervousness, fear, worry and apprehension. Anxiety can affect a person both mentally and physically. Anxiety can either be experienced in very mild cases or in severely debilitating cases. People who experience palpitations due to anxiety may experience symptoms such as a racing heartbeat, heart skipping beats, pounding heart, fluttering, flip-flopping sensation or a feeling that the heart is stopping.
Calming Anxiety
Many people who experience palpitations from anxiety make matters worse by trying to will their hearts to slow down and return to normal. This just causes the person to become more anxious because they are thinking about it too much. Instead, don't resist your thoughts, allow them to occur and then let them go. Focus your attention on taking in slow deep breath and allow your body to relax. Practice this calming technique until your heartbeat returns to normal.
When to Seek Medical Attention
Heart palpitations are rarely serious but medical help should be sought if palpitations are accompanied by shortness of breath, chest discomfort, feeling light headed or loss of consciousness. These symptoms could be indications of a more serious heart condition.
