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     by Stacey Lee

     presented by The Indiana Heart Hospital

     You see him across a crowded room and your heart skips a beat. It's love, right? Or is it? What you are probably feeling are heart palpitations, a normal occurrence in almost everyone, says Dr. Blair MacPhail, an interventional cardiologist with the Heart Partners of Indiana.

     When people describe heart palpitations, they are describing all changes in their heart's normal rhythm patterns. "They'll describe an extra heartbeat or skipping a beat, which is entirely normal," MacPhail says. "Usually what we'll see is the heart will beat on a regular basis and then an early beat will occur, either from the upper or lower chamber of the heart; and then a hard heartbeat might follow and then they'll return to their normal pattern. And that's actually a fairly normal phenomenon."

     Lifestyle is often a trigger for heart palpitations. "Smoking, caffeine, alcohol and fatigue, someone who is emotionally and physically exhausted," MacPhail says, "all of those things will contribute to lowering the threshold for developing a rhythm change."

     But not all palpitations are normal. Sometimes they are a symptom of a more serious heart problem. MacPhail advises when a palpitation is accompanied by other symptoms, such as passing out or feeling like you are going to pass out, shortness of breath, chest pain or dizziness, you should be seen or evaluated by a doctor immediately.

     One example of a more serious heart problem is called Mitral Value Prolapse. According to MacPhail, MVP is prevalent in women, and is associated with all types of rhythm disturbances.

     According to WebMD (www.webmd.com), a medical Web site dedicated to bringing clinical medical information to consumers, MVP "is a common condition in which the mitral valve between the left upper chamber (left atrium) and left lower chamber (left ventricle) of the heart does not function properly."

     Although typically not life threatening, MacPhail estimates that up to 15 percent of the female population may have Mitral Valve Prolapse.

     If palpitations are occurring alone, without other symptoms, lifestyle adjustments such as quitting smoking, limiting caffeine and alcohol intake, and rest could help.

     For more information on heart palpitations, visit the palpitation center online at www.medicinenet.com/palpitations.

Article appears as published in the IW issue.