Your heart beats at a steady pace to pump blood throughout your body. If you seem to have extra beats, or if you drop the occasional beat, you’re said to have heart palpitations.

Palpitations are a common occurrence, and they only rarely indicate an underlying health problem, such as an arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm). Still, they can be disconcerting, and it’s always best to check with a cardiologist to make sure nothing’s amiss.

At Northwest Houston Heart Center, Dr. Adnan Aslam and Dr. Roy Norman diagnose and treat heart palpitations at their offices in the Dallas, Texas, area. If you experience palpitations while you’re exercising, should you see a cardiologist? Our experts weigh in here.

Common causes of heart palpitations

Much of the time, the underlying reason behind heart palpitations isn’t able to be determined. When they can be traced, common causes include:

• Stress, anxiety, or panic attacks
• Depression
• Strenuous exercise
• Stimulants: caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, pseudoephedrine
• Fever
• Hormonal changes associated with menstruation, pregnancy, or menopause
• Too much or too little thyroid hormone

Occasionally, palpitations can indicate a serious problem, such as an arrhythmia.

The health risks of palpitations

An intermittent irregularity of the heart rhythm usually causes no damage to the heart itself. However, people who have a very rapid beat over a long period of time run the risk of developing heart enlargement and heart failure.

Heart enlargement or failure may be a consequence of a common cause of palpitations called atrial fibrillation (afib), a type of arrhythmia that occurs when the top two chambers of the heart don’t beat in sync with the bottom two chambers. This causes episodes of irregular and often rapid heart rhythms.

As there may also be some increased risk of stroke due to blood clots that can form in association with afib, it’s important to get palpitations medically evaluated in case afib is the cause.

Exercise and palpitations

The relationship between exercise and palpitations is complicated. Many patients experience premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) or palpitations before and after exercise, but not while they’re actually exercising.

During exercise, people’s heart rate rises, and the PVCs or extra beats disappear at this higher rate. After exercise, the body’s adrenaline level remains elevated for a period while the heart rate begins to come down. It’s during this period that the extra beats begin to come back, sometimes at a rate and frequency higher than before they started.

If the person doesn’t experience any other symptoms, or if they’re mild, there’s usually no reason for serious concern, though it’s always best to check with a cardiologist to be certain.

However, if other symptoms accompany the palpitations — i.e., shortness of breath, chest pain or discomfort, severe lightheadedness, or loss of consciousness – that is a cause for concern, and you absolutely should follow up with a cardiologist to determine what’s wrong and what can be done to treat it.

Bottom line: Not every palpitation is serious, but it’s always best to get the problem checked out, and this is where Northwest Houston Heart Center can help. To schedule, give us a call at one of our locations — in The Woodlands, Magnolia, Cypress, or Tomball, Texas — text us at 832-402-9518, or book online with us today.