Heart flutter symptoms are caused by heart arrhythmias. Arrhythmias, or irregular heart rhythms, can make the heart beat too fast or too slow. Everyone may experience an arrhythmia at some point in life. Many times, people feel irregular heartbeats and describe the sensation as a fluttering in the chest. In most cases, heart arrhythmias or flutters do not cause serious problems; however, a doctor should evaluate recurrent arrhythmias as they can indicate a more serious condition.

Palpitations
People frequently describe a rapid and strong heart beat felt in the upper chest or throat as a flutter. Health care providers refer to these symptoms as palpitations. Palpitations frequently create feelings of anxiety in people experiencing them. Stress, exertion, and stimulants like caffeine can trigger palpitations.

Cough
Heart flutters may cause strong palpitation sensations in the upper chest and throat, which induce coughing. According to authors Donna D. Ignatavicius and M. Linda Workman in their book "Medical-Surgical Nursing-Patient Centered Collaborative Care," patients with a prolonged heart flutter, or those who have a history of heart failure, can experience cough with an arrhythmia because of a build-up of fluid in the heart and lungs that results from the irregular heart rhythm.