heart palpitations

[ups2105]

from last one and a half months my father(age 58) feels a type of heart palpitations ,he describes"suddent contraction and some panic same fear caused by coming down from a roller coaster in his heart"for seconds 1 or 2.it is happening from last 1 months and and 5 to 8 times a day,i took him to a doctor ecg was normal and bp was also normal.doctors said its normal but the strange sensations in his heart are still there .he is addicted to tobacco and caffeine..what should i do i am very much worried.pls help .should i go for further tests?




This discussion is related to Change in Palpitation Frequency.

[Squarewheel]

Hi, it sounds like he is describing 'ectopic' beats. Caffeine will make these worse. They are not harmful but they don't feel very nice at the time. (I speak from 9years of experience). If you google ectopic beats you will get an in depth explanation of what they are. I hope this may help. Good luck.

[achillea]

For a good explanation, please read this great article posted at medhelp by pacperson: http://www.drjohnm.org/2013/06/benign-pvcs-a-heart-rhythm-doctors-approach/