Rapid, forceful, or irregular heartbeats that you can feel in your chest.
From Latin 'palpitare' (to throb or flutter). The 'palp' root relates to touching/feeling, as if the heart is touching the chest walls with each beat.
Your heart can skip a beat from excitement or anxiety, but knowing it's just adrenaline—not danger—is why doctors teach you the word: it turns scary into scientific.
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