What do palpitations feel?

Have you ever felt like your heart was doing jumping jacks inside your chest? That weird feeling leaves you wondering what just happened, well, welcome to the fascinating world of palpitations. In this article, we will explore everything about palpitations-from how they happen to what causes them and even more! Put on your seat belt and read on.

Overview: What are Palpitations?

Palpitation is when an individual feels that their heartbeat has heightened or changed in some way. It is also described as a subjective awareness of one’s heartbeat. They can be intense enough suggestions that someone could feel their own pulse in their neck or wrist.

How Does it Happen?

Suppose someone experiences any variation from normal beats per minute (BPM) such as the rates increase (tachycardia), decrease (bradycardia) or erratic rhythm (arrhythmias). In that case, it qualifies as palpitation under definition according to doctors at Mayo Clinic

This happens due to various reasons which include:
Emotional triggers – i.e., anxiety and stress
Activities involving physical exertion
Commercial energy drinks containing caffeine
Adrenaline rushes occasioned by Perceived danger

Can You Predict When Palpitations Will Occur?

Now if only one could predict when these things come along with cures included-instead of having sudden fluttering sensations interrupt anything we do. Howeverdward based on feelingsalone cannot see real-time predictive analytics. So nope, predicted times won’t work here!

![heartlines](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1517705008123-a526f55b8aaa)

But there’s hope for lovers of pattern recognition because regular monitoring via wearable devices may identify perpetrating episodes recording time/date(s)/circumstances surrounding each episode potentially resulting in identifying relevant predisposing factor(s) leading to palpitation.

Let’s Get Specific: What Do Palpitations Feel Like?

Palpitations might feel different from people to people, just like different reflexes elicit varied responses among several individuals.
Some of the palpitation descriptions often reported include:
A Fluttering
Skipping a beat or two randomly
Thumping (this is typically the heavy “bass” you can feel)
Pounding in your head
All these sensations above are not pleasant but nonetheless essential indicators new and subtle heart-related conditions may be present.

Can Palpitations Indicate An Underlying Medical Condition?

Most times,heartbeat irregularity would disappear as suddenly as it popped up-especially if prompted emotionally-but other times, an underlying condition might cause them indicating that something more serious could be happening.
Here are some conditions where one should raise red flags medically when experienced:
| Condition | Explanation |
| —————————————————————| ———————————————————— |
| Fast Heartbeats (tachycardia) | 100 beats per minute on rest state |
| Slow Heartbeats (bradycardia) | Less than 50 beats per minute at rest |
| Arrhythmia | Your heartbeat becomes uneven |
| Mitral Valve prolapse | The valve which separates blood chambers of left side heart leaks halfway through its closure preventing normal blood flow between the liver and lungs. |

It is important to note that some explanations for palpitation occurrences -such as drug use, direct injuries from accidents causing sternum pain-and even anxiety due lifestyle changes described below could contribute significantly to why one feels sensations around their chest cavity.

![cardiology](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1596854146970-be937f97e8b1)

### So Now That We Know How It Feels? What Causes It?
Medical experts have identified several causes that might induce palpitations in individuals. Not all of them require medical attention, and some are necessarily lifestyle-induced.
Here is a list of common triggers to stay mindful of:
Caffeine
Nicotine
Alcohol
Acute stress (job or relationship conflicts) every once in a while-thankfully not usually terminal!

It’s important to mention that certain underlying conditions requiring more urgent treatment could also cause palpitations. These include anemia, too much thyroid hormone- like we mentioned earlier-, or heart-related ailment.

Healthy Lifestyle Changes Recommended For Palpitation Relief?

Palpitations can have their etiology based on your habits-and being aware and working out ways to reduce them will go a long way towards ameliorating these fluttering sensations.
So here are some healthy lifestyle changes one might adopt:

Lifestyle Change	Explanation
Sleeping well	Get seven hours sleep per day this helps avoiding high-stress levels resulting from fatigued bodies.
Reduce the useof stimulants	Avoid caffeine-based energy drinks/food substances that contain it less necessary relief at times means going cold-turkey until individual success-intervals rise.Therefore maintaining alternatives such as green tea or fresh fruit juices promote staying hydrated overpowered Stimulant highs.
Exercising	Moderate exercise-especially cardio Helps.Regular exercises serve two major purposes,increase cardiovascular fitness & better enzymes secretion promoting general wellbeing
Reducing anxiety	Mindful meditation-once day past morning breakfast-can help significantly if you plan daily activities calmed prretrospect.have self-recognition practices ingrained into your pre-planned days may result in exceptional amounts balance stopping episodes before they start.

Spotting A Heart Attack

We’ve discussed in some detail underlining medical conditions, which could cause palpitations. One such condition is a heart attack.
A heart attack has the following structural symptoms:
An uneven chest cavity pain often accompanied with discomfort spreading to jaw or either arms
This irregular heartbeat and dizziness

It’s critical-when these kinds of signs and other supra-individual panic attack-related symptoms happen-to see your doctor immediately.

![heartbeat](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1521747116042-b55a26d49bfe)

What Next: Going Forward With Palpitation Management?

Start by ensuring that you figure out what caused them from getting here(oh wait! We already did so). That said,the focus now shifts to prevention-style mechanisms since avoiding triggers that might prompt an episode in the first place will be paramount-going forward & Let us hope you learn more about taking control of unwanted palpitating sensations!