What Causes Palpitations When Diagnosed With Anxiety?

Posted on Fri, 27 May 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 27 May 2016 Answered on

Thu, 30 Jun 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I am a 42 year old healthy female ...starting having heart palpitations a few months ago that come and go I've had every heart test done echo and stress tests and bloodwork all normal... Still can't shake these palpitations and I feel the urge to cough every time I have one... My doctor says anxiety but that's too general for me.. What could it be am I missing something?
Thanks,

Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (20 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Following advice

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you for asking!
I read your query and understood your concerns.

Since all cardiac and hormonalbtest were normal (appart from premature ventricular beats or PVC) you shouldn't worry about.

It's normal to experience palpitations with PVCs and your doctor isn't missing anything. As long as all exams are normal the palpitations are harmless.

Anxiety and GERD (acid reflux) may be an aggravating factor to your symptoms. If you were my patient I would recommend to do upper endoscopy to exclude GERD.

Hope this will be of help!
Wish you health!
Dr. Shehu

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar