A common heart disease, heart palpitations, is an abnormality in one's heartbeat. When under a lot of stress the heart begins to work harder and pump faster. Exercising, illness, anxiety, stimulants, and some medical conditions are generally the cause of most palpitations. Any substance containing caffeine, nicotine or metabolistic catalyst speeds up the heart rate, this may in turn result in a skipped heartbeat or racing heart. Hypoglycemia, anxiety, anemia, valve irregularities, and some thyroid problems also play a major role in this heart disease.
Some time in life everyone has a palpitation of the heart. Lasting from only a few seconds to at longest a few minutes they are not always noticeable. Some symptoms include skipped beats, fluttering, pounding, and racing of the heart. Lightheadedness and shortness of breath also accompany these symptoms.
Key to the diagnosis of this disease is the medical history of the patient. Occurrence of the palpitations, other symptoms, how long they lasted, how long they have been present with the patient, if they improve or worsen during certain activities, and whether there is a use of stimulants are the main questions asked.
Minamata Disease Poster
Disease?
Diseased TreeThe performance of physical examinations can rule out cardiac or thyroid complications. Electrocardiograms and echocardiograms aid in the diagnosis of palpitations ECG's make sure that there is not a serious defect in the rhythm of the heart. Echocardiograms rule out structural imperfection. Testing samples of the patients' blood may aid in establishing the cause of the disease. It can show anemia, blood sugar, and some thyroid problems. Testing blood sugar is only helpful if the patient is undergoing a symptom at the time.
Treatment of this disease may prove to be tough. If the cause is an overuse of stimulants, addictions to these may cause problems in giving them up. If the problem is the eating habits of the patient, doctors will alter the disorder in hope of curing the palpitations. Problems may lie deeper and the cause may be anxiety. Counseling and medication are the treatments of anxiety related palpitations. If found persistent and frequent some exercises are "prescribed" to the patient.
Prevention of this disease is a relatively easy task. Not overusing stimulants and keeping your anxiety to a low level will keep your risk of palpitations to a minimum.
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