Palpitations
A palpitation is simply an awareness of your own heartbeat — often described as fluttering, pounding or racing. It can last seconds or, occasionally, days, and may come and go or be continuous.
Palpitations don’t always mean something’s wrong: sometimes they’re just an awareness of a perfectly normal heartbeat. But because they can also signal an underlying rhythm problem, it’s worth getting checked, ideally with an ECG recorded during an episode if possible.
What we do: if testing shows the cause is innocent and not bothersome, no treatment is usually needed. Where it is troublesome, tablets or a straightforward ablation procedure can often resolve it.
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Skipped Heart Beats
A skipped or missed heartbeat is one of the most common things patients come to see us about. It’s usually caused by an extra beat (called an ectopic beat) — your heart pauses briefly afterwards, and that pause is what you feel as a “missed” beat.
In most people, ectopic beats are entirely harmless, even if they’re bothersome. In a small number of cases they can point to an underlying heart issue, which simple tests — an ECG and an ultrasound scan of your heart (echocardiogram) — can usually rule out.
What we do: if the extra beats are innocent and not troublesome, they can safely be left alone. If they are bothersome, tablets or occasionally ablation can help.
Blackouts
A blackout (or syncope) happens when the heart can’t deliver enough blood to the brain for a moment — usually because it’s beating too fast or too slow. Not every blackout is caused by a heart rhythm problem; epilepsy, common fainting spells and strokes can all look similar, which is why it’s always worth being assessed by a specialist.
What we do: we’ll investigate the underlying rhythm with monitoring and, where needed, further tests, to establish the cause and the right treatment.