Palpitations
While there are many causes for palpitaions, here are some
endocrine causes:
1. Overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism)
2. Overdosing of thyroid hormone
3. Hypoglycemia (low blood glucose)
4. Pheochromocytoma
Some other causes of palpitations are:
5. Anxiety, panic attacks
6. Mitral valve prolapse
7. Extra beats of the heart
8. Irregular heart beat
An overactive thyroid and overdosing of thyroid hormone are quite common and can be easily diagnosed with a blood test.
Hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) usually occurs in a diabetic patient due to too much insulin or other drugs such as Diabeta (glyburide), Micronase (glyburide), Glynase (glyburide), Glucotrol (glipizide), Diabenes (chlorpropamide), etc.
Hypoglycemia can rarely occur in a non-diabetic person and needs a thorough evaluation.
Pheochromocytoma is an uncommon endocrine disorder. In pheochromocytoma, there is an overproduction of adrenaline and noradrenaline from the adrenal glands. It usually manifests as episodes of palpitations, severe headache, profuse sweating and elevated blood pressure. Pheochromocytoma can present in many other ways also. Consult an endocrinologist if you have any suspicion of pheochromocytoma.
This article was written by Sarfraz Zaidi, MD, FACE. Dr. Zaidi
specializes in Diabetes,
Endocrinology
and Metabolism.
Dr. Zaidi is an assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA and Director of the Jamila Diabetes and Endocrine Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, California.
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