Whether you're exercising, waiting nervously for an exam, or simply in a very quiet room, there will always be times in your life when you become incredibly aware of your own heartbeat. While this is rarely a problem, upon occasion you may notice that you can hear your heartbeat loudly in your ears, feel it in your throat, or notice a pulsing in your chest; these feelings are generally called heart palpitations.

There are a lot of different things that can cause palpitations, but some of them necessitate going to a health clinic to get checked out for potential health problems; so if you're wondering what your heart palpitations could mean, then here are three things that could be causing them:

Anxiety Attack

A problem as nasty as it sounds, an anxiety attack (also called a panic attack) is when your body is overwhelmed with intense fear, normally accompanied by sweating, shaking, numbness, or a feeling that the world is ending -- not to mention heart palpitations. While anxiety attacks aren't physically dangerous -- you can't die from one, even if it's possible to feel like you're dying during an attack -- you should get checked out by a doctor all the same so that you can receive the treatment you need.

Hyperthyroidism

A condition where your thyroid gland overproduces thyroid hormone, hyperthyroidism is a nasty little disease usually marked by symptoms such as overheating, headaches, extreme weight loss, and, yes, heart palpitations. Left unchecked, hyperthyroidism can wreak havoc with the hormones inside of your body, which can throw off your normal systems from reproductive health to metabolism to sleep rhythms, causing numerous health problems -- and is a good reason to go and get your palpitations checked out by a doctor.

Arrhythmia 

Technically defined as any unusual heart rhythm, an arrhythmia is generally broken down into two categories: too fast (tachycardia) and too slow (bradycardia). If you're feeling palpitations, chances are good that you're leaning closer to the tachycardia end (or simply have a rhythm that switches between too fast and too slow, becoming wholly irregular). Tachycardia usually presents with heart palpitations as its defining symptom, and, if not treated by a doctor, can lead to complications such as ischemia. 

Remember, if there's something not right in your body, you'll be the first one to notice -- so if you notice that your heart seems to palpitate, especially if it happens commonly, go to your local cardiologist and get checked out today.