Palpitation Causes

The heart needs its normal environment to work well. If there are changes within or outside of the body, the heart's electrical system can be affected.

From within the body, abnormal levels of electrolytes like potassium, magnesium, and calcium can cause palpitations. Anemia and hyperthyroidism are also a potential causes of palpitations.

We live in a very chemical world, and many of the substances we put into our body appear to be adrenalin to the heart, and thus makes it irritable. Common stimulants include:

• caffeine,
  
  
• tobacco,
  
  
• alcohol,
  
  
• over the counter medications: pseudoephedrine found in cold preparations and some herbal medications, including ma huang
  
  
• illicit drugs, cocaine being the most prevalent, although PCP and marijuana, among others, can cause palpitations as well.

The use of some prescription medications needs to be monitored, since their side effects can cause palpitations. Asthma medications like albuterol inhalers or theophylline and thyroid replacement medications are common causes of palpitations.

Times of stress can increase adrenalin levels in the body and cause rapid heart beats. These are physiologic and may be due to exercise, illness, or emotional stressors.

Specific types of palpitations may be due to structural abnormalities in the heart. Narrowing of the coronary arteries that causes a decreased blood supply to the heart muscle can cause irritability and abnormal heart beats like premature ventricular contractions, ventricular tachycardia, or ventricular fibrillation. Structural wiring abnormalities can cause paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardias or Wolfe-Parkinson-White syndrome.

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