Palpitations

From Marfan Friends World Wiki

Palpitations are an awareness of one's own heartbeat. It does not necessarily imply pathology. It is not usually constant but occurs intermittently. Sometimes it is awareness of an intermittent thump in the chest when one heartbeat is rather more forceful than the rest.

There may be cardiac disease but often the problem is anxiety and undue circumspection. Epidemiology

Palpitations may be the reason for 30 to 40% or referrals to cardiology clinics but in most cases there is no significant organic pathology. However, in a few there is serious and potentially fatal disease.

The elderly are more likely to be aware of their heartbeat but they are also more likely to have cardiac disease. A study from Hong Kong found that in the elderly both palpitations and abnormal rhythms were quite common in the elderly but bore little relationship to each other.