For the most part, we never notice our heart as it pumps blood through our body. Heart palpitations can be a frightening reminder that our heart is there! People who’ve experienced them will feel their heart pound, flutter, or even seemingly skip a few beats. They can be felt either in the chest, throat, or neck.
Heart palpitations sound scary, and they’re even more confusing for people who don’t know why it’s happening. Not to worry! Most often they’re stress-related and not at all harmful. However, caffeine, nicotine, and hormones can also cause the heart to beat faster than normal, as can an underlying health condition. If they persist, consult a medical professional.
Here are the 15 common causes of abnormal heart beat…
1. Stress
More often than not, an abnormally fast heart rate will occur due to an emotional response—for instance, work stress or personal anxiety—or worse, a panic attack! “When your adrenaline level goes up, it makes you feel the palpitations, because your heart is beating stronger or faster,” says Malissa Wood, MD, co-director of the Corrigan Women’s Heart Health Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, to Self. Wood also notes that lack of sleep can be a causative factor basically anything that would “make you on edge.”