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What Causes Extra Heart Beats?
Question: What causes extra heart beats? Just had an ekg which shows it and I am having a stress test as a follow up. What can cause and are there symptons?
Brief Answer:
Need more investigations
Detailed Answer:
Dear friend,
Welcome to Health Care Magic
The extra beats are not always symptomatic.
The feeling depends on individual sensitivity – some do not feel them at all / some may feel every beat. A feeling that a beat is missed, or stronger or irregular...
At this age Coronary Artery Disease needs to be excluded; hence the stress test.
Anaemia / Anxiety / Alcohol / Tobacco (smoking) / Caffeine (too much tea, coffee, cola) / Fever / Infection / Pain / Stress / Thyroid / electrolyte changes / Medicines like Phenylephrine used for ‘cold and so on - may be responsible.... / At times, abnormal nerve paths in the heart (bypass tracts) or disease of the conduction system may be responsible!
HOLTER (24 to 48 hour ambulatory monitoring) is done to analyse and plan for further management…
ECHOcardiogram is necessary to see the heart valves / heart muscle (Cardiomyopathy) and heart function (Ejection fraction, wall motion abnormality) / clots...
If there are no clues and if the problem is still bothering to the extent of interfering with life style, there are advanced techniques of investigations – Electro Physiological Studies (EPS) – but the test is invasive and generally not done unless there are compelling indications. This super-speciality expert is called ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOGIST.
The treating doctor alone may suggest them depending on need, based on his assessment of the situation.
Take care
Wishing all well
God bless
Need more investigations
Detailed Answer:
Dear friend,
Welcome to Health Care Magic
The extra beats are not always symptomatic.
The feeling depends on individual sensitivity – some do not feel them at all / some may feel every beat. A feeling that a beat is missed, or stronger or irregular...
At this age Coronary Artery Disease needs to be excluded; hence the stress test.
Anaemia / Anxiety / Alcohol / Tobacco (smoking) / Caffeine (too much tea, coffee, cola) / Fever / Infection / Pain / Stress / Thyroid / electrolyte changes / Medicines like Phenylephrine used for ‘cold and so on - may be responsible.... / At times, abnormal nerve paths in the heart (bypass tracts) or disease of the conduction system may be responsible!
HOLTER (24 to 48 hour ambulatory monitoring) is done to analyse and plan for further management…
ECHOcardiogram is necessary to see the heart valves / heart muscle (Cardiomyopathy) and heart function (Ejection fraction, wall motion abnormality) / clots...
If there are no clues and if the problem is still bothering to the extent of interfering with life style, there are advanced techniques of investigations – Electro Physiological Studies (EPS) – but the test is invasive and generally not done unless there are compelling indications. This super-speciality expert is called ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOGIST.
The treating doctor alone may suggest them depending on need, based on his assessment of the situation.
Take care
Wishing all well
God bless
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Answered by
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