Irregular heartbeat can be uncomfortable as well as unnerving, and this feeling is something that many of us dealing with stress and anxiety are all too familiar with. Now, government and corporate hospitals are seeing an increase in the number of COVID-positive persons rushing in for doctor’s consultation for palpitations, which are so strong that one feels their heart pounding out of the chest or that it may explode at any moment. Some of them have even described the experience as “a train running at high speed”.
Doctors say such patients are advised to undergo electrocardiogram (ECG) test to know if the heart rhythm is abnormal. The ECG is performed free of cost at government hospitals, and at private healthcare facilities, it costs anywhere between ₹100 and ₹300.
Internal Medicine specialist Hemanth Kalakuntla says prior to advising an ECG test, they take into consideration the age of the patient, co-morbidities and medical history. “We have come across myocarditis (inflammation of heart muscle) among COVID patients in the first and second waves. We suggest patients with the infection to undergo ECG to rule out this possibility. The test helps us know if there are rhythm abnormalities or if anxiety is the cause for rapid heart rate,” he explains.
Senior consultant physician Aarathi Bellary says 90% of the patients with the complaint feel pacified upon doctor’s reassurance. “However, we are cautious about what we suggest to patients. There are four reasons for palpitations — it could be because of pulmonary embolism (blood clot in artery of lungs), myocarditis, heart attack, or anxiety. An ECG helps us to know the cause,” she says.
She adds that the number of patients who complained of palpitations was more during the second wave than now. “Steroids increase metabolism. Increased heart rate is a side effect. Usage of steroids has come down in this wave as a majority of the patients are not requiring hospitalisation,” points out Dr. Aarathi.
Doctors explain that another reason could be patients monitoring their heart rate while going to sleep as they are in a resting position, and have little to no distractions.
Unit head at Cardiothoracic Surgery department, Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences Amaresh Rao Malempati says if palpitations makes a patient uneasy and hinders them from carrying out routine works, they must consult a physician.
But when should one visit a hospital? “Any difficulty in maintaining routine work because of palpitations, chest pain, breathlessness, dizziness or light-headedness, and increased cough, especially while lying down at night. Any of these or a combination of these are red flags, and they must consult a physician at a hospital,” says Dr Amaresh.
Physicians also suggest a hospital visit if one has palpitations associated with chest pain, sweating and breathing difficulty.
