Stop Your Heart Palpitations

Heart palpitations

Also called Ectopic beats (PVCs), Heart skipping beats, Heart flutter, PVCs

3 min plan54 min with every studyUpdated Sep 28, 2026

Who it's forA man whose heart skips, flips or flutters, who wants to know whether it matters and how to make it stop.

When to see a doctor

Palpitations with chest pain, shortness of breath, feeling faint or fainting, or that do not go away: call 911. Or go to the ER. Do not drive yourself.
Palpitations with loss of consciousness, unusual sweating, or dizziness: call 911.
Fainting during exercise is same-day urgent. Call your doctor or urgent care today, or 911 if you are not fully back to normal. A specialist should review it within 24 hours.
A fast or irregular heartbeat at rest with a severe headache, weakness on one side, blurred vision or trouble speaking: call 911.
Diagnosed with SVT and an episode lasts longer than usual: call 911.
Had those symptoms, but they have stopped: ask your doctor's office for an urgent appointment, or call urgent care today.
A resting pulse over 100 without exercise, anxiety or fever: contact a doctor right away. The same for extra beats more than 6 a minute, or in runs of 3 or more.
A parent, child, brother or sister who died suddenly under 40, or has an inherited heart condition: see urgent care or your doctor today. You may need tests.
Palpitations or dizziness during exercise: stop, and get checked before you train hard again. Some inherited heart conditions are set off by exercise.
Palpitations that keep coming back, come more often or last longer than a few minutes: see your doctor. The same with a heart condition, or heart problems in the family.
A racing heart with shaking, feeling hot, weight loss and nerves: ask for a thyroid blood test.
On an ADHD stimulant, a decongestant, an asthma inhaler, steroids or testosterone, or after cocaine or cannabis: tell the doctor. Each can drive the beats.
Loud snoring, waking gasping or choking, and tired all day: ask about sleep apnea. See Sleep apnea.

I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. This is self-education. Every dose on this page is the one a trial or a label used, quoted from the source. It is not a prescription. Talk to a physician who has your history before anything in the With a doctor group.