What's The Connection Between Heart Arrhythmias And Palpitations?

When it comes to the heart, it’s difficult to be too careful about your health. The heart is, after all, one of the most, if not the most, important organs for our survival and must work perfectly our entire lives or it can have serious and even life-threatening effects on our bodies.

How do arrhythmias work? 

The heart is not unlike a lot of modern machines, with a complex electrical system that allows it to beat. Each heartbeat is controlled by distinct electrical signals, which begin in what is called the “sinoatrial node”, or sinus node. The sinus node sends out electrical signals for the rest of your heart. They start from the top of the heart (the atria), causing it to contract. After a brief delay, they pass through electrical pathways to the bottom of the heart (the ventricles) and causes that to contract too. In the end, it pumps the blood out of the heart once again, which completes the process of a heartbeat.

It’s complex on paper and it’s easy to see how the heart could end up failing during various parts of that process. When the heart fails in these areas, it generally affects your heart rate, which is normally 60 to 100 beats per minute.

With an arrhythmia, your heart rate can accelerate to several hundred beats per minute, which causes less blood to be pumped to the rest of the body. Arrhythmias include damages to the sinus node, additional electrical pathways confusing the heart with erroneous signals, damage to the current electrical pathways, and more. Often, it can result in symptoms such as difficulty breathing, chest pain, or dizziness; and some of the more severe arrhythmia can require treatments such as surgery and pacemakers. 

How do palpitations work?

Palpitations sound very similar on the surface — both arrhythmias and palpitations describe an abnormal heartbeat, right?

Also, palpitations are just the feeling of an abnormal heartbeat, describing the sensory part of a strange heartbeat, whereas an arrhythmia can occur without you even noticing it at all.

Palpitations are often described as feeling like a skipped beat, rapid fluttering, a pounding sensation, or a flip-flopping in your chest. It may seem like you can “hear” your heartbeat. There will be times when palpitations aren’t caused by something natural and harmless like exercise and have no apparent cause, and that’s when there is cause for worry and when a professional should be notified. Although it could be harmless, caution is often warranted. Seeking medical attention can prevent unnecessary danger, when the condition can be treated or managed. 

How are palpitations and arrhythmias connected?

When palpitations don't have an apparent cause, there is a chance that they are caused by a heart condition. Because many heart conditions are arrhythmias, it’s not unlikely for the cause of your palpitations to be an arrhythmia as well. If unexplained palpitations occur frequently, don't ignore this worrying symptom and make sure to call your doctor.  If an unexplained palpitation occurs with chest pain, difficulty breathing, dizziness, fatigue, or blurred vision, get in touch with a doctor immediately.

When contacting a doctor, they will ask about your use of caffeine, alcohol, and drugs, in addition to what kind of exercises you do. A medical and family history will also be requested. An electrocardiogram, or ECG, is normal when a doctor is examining heart issues and arrhythmia. An ECG is used to examine the electrical activity of the heart and find any abnormal activity. If the palpitations aren’t presenting in the office and the ECG does not find any issues, the doctor may think it’s necessary to use a device to record your heart rate over a period of time. 

Although most conditions that result in palpitations are arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation (the most common type of arrhythmia) or ventricular/supraventricular arrhythmias (affecting the bottom/top of the heart respectively), several other conditions can cause palpitations as well. These include structural abnormalities in the heart, too much or too little potassium in the blood, certain medicines, hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid), or low oxygen in the blood. If you have experienced any of these conditions before or believe you have one of these conditions, it’s best to tell your doctor if they are examining you for palpitations.