Misdiagnosis of Underlying Causes of Palpitations
| About underlying conditions: With a diagnosis of Palpitations, it is important to consider whether there is an underlying condition causing Palpitations. These are other medical conditions that may possibly cause Palpitations. For general information on this form of misdiagnosis, see Underlying Condition Misdiagnosis or Overview of Misdiagnosis |
Underlying conditions list: The list of possible underlying conditions mentioned in various sources for Palpitations includes:
- Arrhythmia
- Heart disease
- Anemia
- Hyperthyroidism
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Stress
- Excitement
- Indigestion - one reader reports that indigestion leading to gas brings on palpitations
- Strenuous exercise
- Fear
- Perimenopause - the pre-menopause phase can cause palpitations.
- See also causes of symptom palpitations
- Anxiety
- Arrhythmias
- Tachycardia
- Bradycardia
- Atrial fibrillation
- Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation
- Paroxysmal atrial tachycardia (type of Tachycardia)
- Supraventricular tachycardia
- Ventricular tachycardia (type of Arrhythmias)
- Complete heart block
- Holiday heart syndrome - usually due to early alcohol ingestion.
- Click-murmur syndrome
- Digitalis-induced arrhythmia
- Heart disorders
- Heart disease
- Coronary artery disease
- Heart valve disease
- Heart ischemia
- Myocardiopathy
- Mitral valve prolapse
- Congestive heart failure
- Cardiomyopathy
- Dilated cardiomyopathy
- Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy
- Heart conduction abnormalities
- Poor physical condition - may calse "palpitations" on exertion or exercise.
- Hypoglycemia
- Hypoglycemic attack
- Reactive hypoglycemia (type of Hypoglycemia)
- Hyperthyroidism
- Hypoxia
- Hyperventilation
- Infiltrative myocardial diseases
- Amyloidosis
- Sarcoidosis
- Heart tumor
- Hypothyroidism - can cause sinus bradycardia
- Certain drugs and substances
- See also causes of palpitations
Palpitations as a symptom: Conditions listing Palpitations as a symptom may also be potential underlying conditions:
- Anaphylaxis
- Atrial Fibrillation
- Cardiomyopathy
- Cor pulmonale
- Diabetic hypoglycemia
- Graves Disease
- Heart attack
- Heart disease
- Hyperthyroidism
- Hypoglycemia
- Hypoglycemic attack
- Marfan syndrome
- Menopause
- Pheochromocytoma
- Premenstrual syndrome
- Primary pulmonary hypertension
- Sick sinus syndrome
- Sinus node disease
- Stress
- Tachycardia
- Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome
Underlying conditions discussion:
If a woman has palpitations and other symptoms such as dizziness or
shortness of breath, she should tell her health care provider right away.
The health care provider will take a complete medical history and perform
a physical exam, and may order further tests to determine the cause of the
palpitations. In some people, caffeinated products (coffee, candy bars),
alcohol, and stress can cause palpitations. When a woman is in
perimenopause (the time before menopause), changing hormone levels
can also cause harmless palpitations.1
Footnotes:
1. excerpt from HEART AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: NWHIC
Last revision:
June 5, 2003
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