Medical treatments

Treatment

Unless the palpitations are caused by a heart condition, heart palpitations rarely require treatment. Instead, a health care provider might recommend taking steps to avoid the triggers that cause palpitations.

If palpitations are caused by a heart condition, such as an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), treatment will focus on correcting the condition.

Treatment for heart palpitations

Treatment depends on the cause of your palpitations. Your doctor will need to address any underlying medical conditions.

Sometimes, doctors aren’t able to find the cause. Heart palpations usually don’t require treatment unless your doctor finds they’re caused by an underlying condition.

If your palpitations don’t have a medical cause, you may be able to reduce symptoms by:

Managing stress and anxiety. Including relaxation techniques in your weekly routine may help reduce heart palpations caused by stress or anxiety. There are many options, but some popular options include:
- physical activity
- breathing exercises
Avoiding stimulants. Try to avoid or minimize your intake of caffeine. Some illegal drugs like cocaine and ecstasy are stimulants that can cause heart palpitations. Also ask your doctor whether any of your prescription medications contain stimulants that could cause heart palpitations.
Watching your diet. Low blood sugar can increase your risk of heart palpations. Replacing sugar and other simple carbs with complex carbs may help keep your blood sugar levels stable. For instance, try to swap sugary sodas, baked goods, and fruit juice concentrates with whole grains and fresh fruit and vegetables.
Changing medications. If you think your medications are contributing to your palpitations, talk with your doctor about alternatives. However, don’t stop taking any medication without first talking with your doctor.
Quitting smoking if you smoke. In a review of studies published in 2018, researchers found evidence that people who smoke are at an increased risk of atrial fibrillation, the most common cause of arrhythmia.

Lifestyle and home remedies

The most appropriate way to treat palpitations at home is to avoid the triggers that cause the symptoms.

Reduce stress. Try relaxation techniques, such as meditation, yoga or deep breathing.
Avoid stimulants. Caffeine, nicotine, some cold medicines and energy drinks can make the heart beat too fast or irregularly.
Avoid illegal drugs. Certain drugs, such as cocaine and amphetamines, can cause heart palpitations.

Treatments will depend on the actual diagnosis & symptoms experienced, so not all options can be fully explained in this limited area.

Medicines

Most commonly, the medication given is to suppress the heart beat or suppress the hearts electrical activity. Common drugs used are beta blockers (Bisoprolol, Sotalol, Metoprolol), calcium channel blockers (Verapamil, Diltiazem) or antiarrhythmics (Flecainide, Amiodarone) to slow down the heart rate and decrease the risk of complications.

Direct Current Cardioversion (DCCV)

One of the most common reasons people are referred to Cardiology Clinics, especially in younger people. The heart produces extra bursts of electricity in the top portion of the heart (the atrium) or bottom chambers of the heart (the ventricles). Ectopic beats cause the sensation of intermittent thumping, fluttering or missed beats. They occur most commonly when your resting – such as sat on the sofa or lying in bed at night before you fall asleep. These ectopics occur at other times, but the mind tends to ignore them if you are busy or pre-occupied. If an ectopic beat occurs, this can lead to anxiety which results in the body releasing adrenaline, irritating the heart, producing more ectopics – so a vicious cycle! Ectopic beats are further differentiated depending on the area of the heart affected.

Catheter Ablation

This is a minimally invasive procedure. A small plastic tube is placed in a vein in the groin or below
the collar bone and passed into the heart. It used to strategically destroy abnormal heart tissue
causing certain types of abnormal heart electrical activity such as Atrial Fibrillation, Atrial Flutter,
Occasional Ventricular Ectopics & Atrio-Ventricular Tachycardias. This procedure is normally
successful but can potentially be associated with risks & side effects. The risks are rare:

Blood clots.
Damage to the vein from the sheath or catheter.
Damage to heart tissue or heart valves.
Infection or bleeding.
Stroke.
The need for a permanent pacemaker.

Device Therapy:

Pacemakers are devices implanted under the skin to correct a slow heartbeat. Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators (ICD’s) are devices that look like large pacemakers, implanted in a similar way but used to detect & correct life threatening electrical heart abnormalities by delivering a shock & restoring the hearts normal rhythm. Surgery: In rare cases, surgery may be necessary to repair or remove the source of any structurally abnormal tissue leading to problems in the hearts electrical activity.