Hello. Thank you for your question and welcome to HCM. I understand your concern. The palpitation is caused by an extrasystole (premature ventricular contraction or skipped heartbeat as often referred to). An extrasystole is a heartbate or heart electrical impulse generated by an another area of the heart, not from the natural pacemaker of it, which generates all the electrical impulses, the sinus node. When this phenomenon happens, heart takes a short pause and sinus node retakes the control. The heartbeat coming after this pause is more forceful and produces the feeling of emptiness in the chest and shortness of breath or heart pounding from your chest or your throat. This sensation is called palpitation. Now, there are a lot of circumstances when extrasystoles can be generated, and these are sensation that almost all people experience in their lifetime. They can happen after engaging in physical activity, when you are undergoing psychological stress, after recreational or binge drinking. Some people, like yourself, tend to find this phenomenon very worrisome, and the anxiety itself, generated by extrasystoles, tends to produce more extrasystoles. These are not worrisome events and are totally benign, when they happen some times a day. I would recommend you to minimize your alcohol intake and recognize it as an unhealthy behaviour. If these palpitations continue to be worrisome to you, you can wear a 24-hour rhythm monitor, and see how often are they found in a 24-hour period. I hope this answers your query. Take care. Regards, Dr. Meriton