The following symptoms and complaints may indicate palpitations (heart palpitations):
Leading symptoms
- Too fast heartbeat
- Too strong heartbeat
- Irregular heartbeat
These symptoms are felt by the affected person himself. The symptoms may be intermittent (intermittent) or persistent.
Warning signs (red flags)
- Sudden tachycardia (heartbeat too fast: > 100 beats per minute) as well as vertigo (dizziness), syncope (momentary loss of consciousness), dyspnea (shortness of breath), and angina pectoris (“chest tightness”; sudden pain in the heart area) → think: supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)
General comment.
If three of the following four variables, which are independent predictors (predictor variables), are true in a patient with palpitations, the risk for the presence of a cardiac cause is 71%:
- Male sex
- Description of an irregular heartbeat
- History of heart disease
- Duration of palpitations for at least five minutes
