What is Palpitation?
Palpitation is a feeling of awareness of your own heart beat. It is usually described as heart rate being either too fast (racing), too slow or a sensation of missing a beat.
Types of palpitations?
Normal (Benign)
Abnormal
Warning signs that suggest palpitations are abnormal?
Palpitations are abnormal, if they are associated with chest heaviness, chest pain, uneasiness, sweating, weakness, giddiness, feeling of black out, fainting, nausea, vomiting, seizures. Palpitations are more likely to be abnormal in people who have some existing heart disease and these patients should report to their doctor at the earliest.
What to do during palpitations?
Which doctor can treat palpitations?
Doctors who specialise in the treatment of palpitations are called Electrophysiologists. They specialise in heart rhythm and are capable of performing a variety of complex tests to identify and treat different types of palpitations.
Which investigations are used to diagnose palpitations?
What is EPS?
EPS stands for Electrophysiology study. By this test a trained Electrophysiologist studies the conduction and formation system of heart beat, to understand the source, cause and type of palpitation. It is a simple and safe procedure of 2 to 3 hours and can be done as a day care procedure (by admitting the patient for a few hours in hospital, with discharge on same day).
It requires fasting for 4 hrs, some standard blood investigations and is done with local anaesthesia and if required it can be combined with treatment like ablation in the same sitting.In the procedure Electrophysiologist take catheters into your heart to study and stimulate the palpitations and understand them. Once found they can use various techniques to stop the palpitations, the techniques are called Ablation.
What are the treatment options available for palpitations?
There are many options depending upon the nature of palpitations and condition of the patient:
Ablations using many sophisticated computer softwares
Device Therapy like ICD (Internal cardiac defibrillator)
Combination of all the above therapies.
Your Electrophysiologist and you as a team can make a choice about the options that will be best for you.
Related Tip: "Why Do You Get Palpitations? How to Get Immediate Relief?"