What are the reasons behind a harder heartbeat?

Question

Hello doctor,

I can feel my heartbeat harder than usual, several times a day. I have undergone electrocardiography (ECG), and the nurses told me that my condition is normal as my heart often takes a few milliseconds longer breaks in between beats, so they work hard to catch up. However, for me, this sounds like arrhythmia. I want to know if this is normal or arrhythmia? I do a lot of fitness workouts, and I wanted to make sure that I am not putting myself in danger. Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

What they told you was correct. These are due to premature beats. When a premature beat comes, the next beat is delayed, called a compensatory pause. This delayed beat is harder than normal ones. Such beats are common in healthy people. These are diagnosed on electrocardiography (ECG). If they occur infrequently, you can do a long-term ECG recording such as Holter monitoring. In most cases, there is no danger. They can be serious only in a few instances. Regards.