UrgentEmergency Guide
Palpitations: Red Flags & Emergency Signs
Palpitations with syncope, chest pain, or breathlessness are a cardiac emergency — ventricular arrhythmias can cause sudden cardiac death.
🚨 Call 999 / 112 Immediately
- ⚠Palpitations with chest pain and breathlessness — VT or MI
- ⚠Palpitations with presyncope or syncope — arrhythmic collapse
- ⚠Irregular rapid pulse in a patient not known to be in AF — new AF with rapid ventricular response
⚡ See a Doctor Today
- •Palpitations at rest lasting >30 minutes
- •Palpitations in a patient with known structural heart disease (prior MI, HCM)
- •Palpitations with exertional breathlessness (thyrotoxicosis, PE)
High-Risk Combinations
When palpitations occurs together with any of these symptoms, urgency increases significantly:
Conditions to Rule Out Urgently
Ventricular Tachycardiaemergency
12-lead ECG; DC cardioversion if unstable; amiodarone
Acute MI with Arrhythmiaemergency
Troponin + ECG; PCI within 90 minutes for STEMI
D-dimer + CTPA; Wells score
Condition Authority Pages
When to Call Emergency Services
- →Palpitations with chest pain or breathlessness
- →Palpitations with near-fainting or actual collapse