What is the difference between palpitations and tachycardia?
Disease description:
Recently, I've been feeling palpitations constantly, and my friend mentioned that this might be arrhythmia. I'd like to know what the difference is between palpitations and arrhythmia?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. He Haochen
Palpitations and heart palpitations (or "heart慌") are actually different descriptions of the same clinical manifestation in medical terms and have no significant distinction.
1. Definition: Palpitations are a medical term used to describe the patient's sensation of heartbeat discomfort, which may be accompanied by symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, slow heartbeat, or irregular heart rhythm. Heart慌 is a layman's term commonly used in daily life to describe this kind of cardiac discomfort.
2. Causes: Both can be triggered by various factors, including heart diseases, systemic diseases, physiological and psychological factors.
3. Treatment: When experiencing symptoms of palpitations or heart慌, one should seek medical attention promptly to identify the cause through related examinations such as electrocardiogram (ECG) and receive appropriate treatment.
Palpitations and heart慌 have no essential difference; both are descriptions of cardiac discomfort and should be treated by timely medical consultation to determine the cause and receive treatment.
