Heart · 4 min read · 2025-10-16

When the heart flutters or skips a beat

A flutter that lasts a few seconds after climbing stairs is common. A flutter with dizziness is a different story.

This page is general education for families in Gurugram. It is not a diagnosis, a medicine list, or a reason to skip a clinician. Doses are deliberately not given.

In plain language

Palpitations are the feeling of the heartbeat: too fast, too hard, or uneven. Extra beats happen in healthy people, especially with little sleep, too much tea, or fever. Some rhythms, though, need a tracing while they are happening, because the ECG is normal again five minutes later.

Signs worth noticing

Note the time, how long it lasted, and what you were doing. That diary is often the best test.

A thump and a pause, then a normal rhythm, in an otherwise well person.
A racing heart with tremor, heat intolerance, and weight loss. The thyroid can do this.
A chaotic heartbeat with chest pressure or fainting.
Palpitations that start only after a new medicine, including some cough syrups and thyroid tablets.

What usually sits underneath

Caffeine, poor sleep, fever, anaemia, thyroid disease, dehydration, and true rhythm problems are the usual list. Anxiety causes real palpitations. It should be concluded after the dangerous causes are considered, not before.

Care that is reasonable at home

Cut the second and third tea or coffee for a week and see if the thumps fade.
Sleep, and do not check your pulse every ten minutes. Monitoring can create the symptom.
If it is happening now and you feel faint or have chest pain, seek urgent care so an ECG can catch it.
Bring the diary and any smartwatch strip, but do not treat the watch as a cardiologist.

A normal ECG when you feel well does not erase a rhythm that comes and goes. Say that clearly at the desk.

When waiting is a bad idea

Fainting, chest pain, or severe breathlessness with the flutter.
A heartbeat that stays very fast for more than a few minutes and you feel unwell.
Palpitations in someone with a known heart valve problem or a previous heart attack.

How Rao Lokram Charitable Trust fits in

OPD can examine you, order an ECG, and check for anaemia or thyroid trouble when the story suggests it. If the episode has already stopped, the history still matters. OPD runs Monday to Sunday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM at Near Rockford School, Anaj Mandi Chowk, Kadipur Road, Shakti Park, Sector 10A, Gurugram, Haryana. Call 98185 48492 or 70423 28047. There is no appointment form on this website.

Questions people ask

Are missed beats dangerous?

Most isolated extra beats are not. Fainting or chest pain beside them changes the answer.

Will a blood test show it?

Blood tests look for causes such as anaemia or thyroid disease. The rhythm itself needs an ECG.

Should I stop exercise?

Stop during the symptom if you feel unwell. Do not retire from walking forever because of one thump.

If this sounds like you, bring the article on your phone if you want, but let the clinician examine you. Old reports and a list of current medicines make the visit shorter.