Is it normal to feel your heartbeat through your chest

Overview

Heart palpitations (pal-pih-TAY-shuns) are feelings of having a fast-beating, fluttering or pounding heart. Stress, exercise, medication or, rarely, a medical condition can trigger them.

Table of Contents Show

When to see a doctor
From Mayo Clinic to your inbox
Risk factors
Complications
Associated Procedures
What are heart palpitations?
Symptoms of heart palpitations
What causes heart palpitations?
How are heart palpitations diagnosed?
Can heart palpitations be prevented or avoided?
Heart palpitations treatment
Living with heart palpitations
Questions to ask your doctor

Although heart palpitations can be worrisome, they're usually harmless. Rarely, heart palpitations can be a symptom of a more serious heart condition, such as an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), that might require treatment.

Symptoms

Heart palpitations can feel like the heart is:

Beating too fast
Flip-flopping
Fluttering rapidly
Pounding
Skipping beats

Heart palpitations may be felt in the throat or neck as well as the chest. They can occur during activity or at rest.

When to see a doctor

Palpitations that are infrequent and last only a few seconds usually don't need to be evaluated. If you have a history of heart disease and have palpitations that occur frequently or worsen, talk to your health care provider. You may need heart-monitoring tests to see if the palpitations are caused by a more serious heart problem.

Seek emergency medical attention if heart palpitations occur with:

Chest discomfort or pain
Fainting
Severe shortness of breath
Severe dizziness

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Causes

Often the cause of heart palpitations can't be found. Common causes include:

Strong emotional responses, such as stress, anxiety or panic attacks
Depression
Strenuous exercise
Stimulants, including caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, and cold and cough medications that contain pseudoephedrine
Fever
Hormone changes associated with menstruation, pregnancy or menopause
Too much or too little thyroid hormone

Occasionally heart palpitations can be a sign of a serious problem, such as an irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia).

Arrhythmias might cause a very fast heartbeat (tachycardia), an unusually slow heartbeat (bradycardia), a heartbeat that varies from a typical heart rhythm or a combination of the three.

Risk factors

Risk factors for heart palpitations include:

Stress
Anxiety disorder or panic attack
Pregnancy
Certain medicines that contain stimulants, such as some cold or asthma medications
An overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism)
Other heart problems, such as irregular heartbeats, structural heart changes, previous heart attack or previous heart surgery

Complications

For palpitations caused by a heart condition, possible complications may include:

Fainting. If the heart beats rapidly, blood pressure can drop, causing the person to faint. This is more likely in those with a heart problem, such as congenital heart disease or certain valve problems.
Cardiac arrest. Rarely, palpitations can be caused by life-threatening heartbeat problems and can cause the heart to stop beating effectively.
Stroke. If palpitations are due to a condition in which the upper chambers of the heart quiver instead of beating properly (atrial fibrillation), blood can pool and cause clots to form. If a clot breaks loose, it can block a brain artery, causing a stroke.
Heart failure. Certain arrhythmias can reduce the heart's pumping ability. Sometimes, controlling the rate of an arrhythmia that's causing heart failure can improve the heart's function.

March 11, 2022

Zimetbaum PJ. Evaluation of palpitations in adults. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed March 15, 2020.
Heart palpitations. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/heart-palpitations#. Accessed Dec. 7, 2021.
Lopez-Jimenez F. (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. March 30, 2020.

Associated Procedures

What are heart palpitations?

Heart palpitations are the sensation that your heart is pounding, racing, or skipping beats (fluttering). It is normal to hear or feel your heart “pounding” as it beats faster when you exercise. You may feel it when you do any physical activity. But if you have palpitations, you might feel like your heart is pounding while you are just sitting still or moving slowly.

Symptoms of heart palpitations

Heart palpitations may feel different to different people. They may feel like your heart is skipping a beat. They may feel like a flutter in your chest. Or they may feel like the pounding described above. You may have heart palpitations while you are sitting or while you are lying down.

What causes heart palpitations?

Many things can cause palpitations. Some causes of heart palpitations include:

Heart-related causes. People who have an irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia may have palpitations. Most of the time, palpitations and irregular heartbeats are harmless. However, sometimes the break in your heart’s normal rhythm can be a serious problem. You also may have palpitations if you have problems with the valves in your heart. Valves help move blood through the heart.
Non-heart-related causes. Certain medicines, herbal supplements, and illegal street drugs can make your heart beat faster. Medicines that can cause palpitations include asthma inhalers and decongestants. Caffeine (found in coffee, tea, and soda), alcohol, and tobacco can also cause palpitations. People who have panic disorder feel their heart pounding when they are fearful of something. They also feel it when they are having a panic attack. Some medical conditions, such as thyroid disease and anemia, also can cause palpitations.

Sometimes the cause of palpitations is unexplained. This happens in about 1 of every 7 people who have palpitations. Palpitations in these people usually are harmless.

How are heart palpitations diagnosed?

If your heart races when you aren’t exercising, see your doctor. Your doctor will examine you and ask you about any medicines you are taking. They will ask about your diet and ask if you have panic attacks. Your doctor may want you to have a resting electrocardiogram test. This test tracks your heartbeat over a certain period of time. Your doctor also may test your blood.

If these tests do not show what is causing your palpitations, your doctor may have you wear a heart monitor. If so, you will wear it for 1 to 30 days. This monitor will show any breaks in your heart’s rhythm. Your doctor might refer you to a cardiologist (a heart doctor) for more tests or treatment.

Can heart palpitations be prevented or avoided?

Heart palpitations cannot always be prevented or avoided. Here are some things you can do that may help prevent or avoid heart palpitations:

Do not use illegal street drugs, such as cocaine.
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco.
Tell your doctor what medicines and herbal supplements you take.
Tell your doctor how much alcohol you drink and if you use anything else that might cause palpitations.
Keep track of your palpitations. Write down the time that they happen and what you were doing when they began. Give this information to your doctor. They may be able to use this information to determine what is causing your heart palpitations.

Heart palpitations treatment

Most of the time, heart palpitations are harmless and will go away on their own. In these cases, they do not require treatment.

However, heart palpitations can sometimes be a sign of a more serious heart condition. If you have palpitations and are also dizzy or have shortness of breath, seek immediate medical attention.

If your heart palpitations are related to a heart condition or other medical problem, your doctor will treat you for that. In these cases, your heart palpitations will likely go away as a result of treatment.

If your heart palpitations are a result of certain foods, beverages (alcohol and caffeine), or medications, try cutting back. Doing so could stop your heart palpitations.

Living with heart palpitations

If you can understand what is causing your palpitations, you will likely be able to manage them. You will be able to avoid known triggers, like diet pills, caffeine, and cold/cough medicines.

Palpitations that are caused by anxiety or stress are sometimes harder to control. The anxiety can cause the palpitations, and the palpitations can create anxiety. These often make up a seemingly endless cycle. In these cases, your doctor may prescribe a medicine to ease your anxiety.

Questions to ask your doctor

What is the likely cause of my heart palpitations?
Will I need to wear a heart monitor? For how long?
Would it be helpful if I kept track of my palpitations? Do I need to track anything else, such as what I ate or my physical activity?
Do my heart palpitations indicate a more serious problem?
What are some symptoms that would indicate my condition is getting worse?
Will I need to change my lifestyle, such as diet and exercise habits?

Resources

This information provides a general overview and may not apply to everyone. Talk to your family doctor to find out if this information applies to you and to get more information on this subject.