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What Are the Dangers of Heart Palpatations?

Heart palpitations are essentially sensations within your chest of a rapid or pounding heartbeat. Stress is one of the chief culprits of this event, but you may also suffer from palpitations due to exercise, medications, caffeine and a health-related condition (though this isn't as common as the rest). When you experience these sensations in your chest, you more than likely are wondering if they pose any danger.

  1. No Danger

    • With most case of heart palpitations, there's really no danger. It's simply a response to some sort of stimuli, like stress or exercise, that is causing your heart to race. You may have had too much caffeine or nicotine. You may simply be experiencing palpitations due to a fever or a hormonal change, like with your period or even pregnancy. Once the stimulus is removed, the palpitations should dissipate without any damage to the heart.

    Loss of Consciousness

    • Though not necessarily as dangerous as other complications of heart palpitations, it's possible to lose consciousness when your heart beats more rapidly than normal. The rapid heart may cause a sudden drop in blood pressure, which can prompt fainting. For the most part, you should regain consciousness in a short period of time.

    Stroke

    • When heart palpitations are much more severe, as would be seen with an arrhythmia, you could suffer a stroke. This is largely due to the reaction your heart can have from these irregular heartbeats, causing the organ to "quiver." As the heart quivers, blood can begin to pool and then clot. Anytime a clot forms, you risk the potential of it traveling to an arterial vessel of the brain, leading to a stroke.

    Heart Failure

    • Heart palpitations, namely those experienced for longer periods of time, can cause the heart to eventually fail. Heart failure is a condition where your heart is unable to pump blood effectively throughout the body. But this event is generally seen with underlying conditions, such as arrhythmia or heart disease. Rarely does a heart palpitation from stress, exercise or another form of stimuli pose this sort of danger.

    Cardiac Arrest

    • While heart palpitations rarely cause you to suffer a cardiac arrest, there is the potential for your heart to abruptly stop beating, which is quite different than a heart attack. A heart attack is characterized by a blockage of blood flow. And much like the danger of heart failure, it would be seen in those cases of an underlying heart condition.

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