Without feeling, your heart beats every time. But there are times when you feel your heart pounding. Be careful, this situation that is generally classified as normal can sometimes also be a symptom of serious illness.
Heart palpitations or palpitations are sensations when your heart feels beating fast. Indeed in certain conditions, palpitations can be a sign of heart disease. But generally palpitations are not dangerous and only occur occasionally for a reason.
Pounding heart trigger
Heart palpitations can be caused by many things, ranging from simple and often unconscious causes to dangerous causes. The following are things that can cause heart palpitations.
Lifestyle
When you are feeling anxious, very excited, exercising intensively, or in a hurry situation, the adrenaline hormone will be released from the body and make the heart beat. Passions consume spicy and spicy foods, smoking, consuming alcoholic beverages or caffeinated drinks can also cause heart palpitations.
Health condition
The following body conditions can trigger heart palpitations:
- Anemia
- Overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism)
- Dehydration
- Low blood sugar levels
- Low blood pressure (orthostatic hypotension)
- Fever
- Disorders of the heart, such as heart rhythm disturbances or arrhythmias, and heart valve abnormalities
- Electrolyte disturbances
Panic attack
Panic attacks make you feel a heart pounding accompanied by an extraordinary feeling of anxiety, stress, fear, nausea, and trembling. Sometimes it is also accompanied by cold sweat.
Hormonal changes in women
Changes in hormone levels during pregnancy, menstruation, and menopause can also cause heart palpitations. This condition is generally not dangerous and only temporary.
Consumption of drugs
Sometimes taking certain medications, such as high blood pressure medications and certain types of antibiotics, can cause heart palpitations. Medications that can cause heart palpitations include bronchodilator drugs for asthma, antihistamines, drugs to treat thyroid disorders, and cough medicines that contain pseudoephedrine stimulants.
Heart palpitations that are not caused by heart disease have a small risk of causing complications. But if this condition is caused by a disturbance in the heart's organs, then palpitations can cause complications such as sudden fainting, stroke, heart failure, even cardiac arrest.
Relieve palpitations
In general, palpitations do not require special treatment if they only occur occasionally and are temporary without other complaints. But you need to be careful if this condition often occurs without a clear trigger or if you have a history of heart disease. Immediately consult a doctor if the heart is beating accompanied by dizziness, chest pain, severe shortness of breath, or fainting.
If the heart is beating due to a particular disease, the doctor will give medicines to treat the cause of the disease. However, there are no special medicines to deal with palpitations that are not caused by disease. All you can do is avoid things that trigger the condition.
Here are some simple ways you can do to reduce palpitations:
- Avoid trigger factors, such as nicotine in cigarettes, caffeinated drinks, energy drinks, or drugs that can trigger symptoms. Discuss with your doctor if the medication you are taking causes complaints of palpitations.
- Relieves anxiety and stress with relaxation methods such as yoga, meditation, breathing, or aromatherapy.
- Avoid consuming drugs, such as cocaine, which is at risk of triggering heart palpitations.
The long-term way to avoid palpitations is to adopt a healthy lifestyle and avoid excessive stress as much as possible.
Check with a doctor if the frequency of palpitations is beyond normal limits, there is no obvious cause, or if you have risk factors for heart disease, such as obesity or smoking.
