# heart stuttered



## ileana81

frase: Grace’s heart stuttered

contesto: la ragazza sta ricordando un avvenimento accaduto in passato con suo fratello.

ho trovato che stutter significa balbettare, avere una balbuzia, avere un problema nel parlare.

ho anche guardato in giro per il web ma non sono riuscita a capire .
potrebbe significare perdere un battito, oppure sussultare?


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## johngiovanni

"Il cuore di Grace ha palpitato"  (?)


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## sorry66

It just means that the heart beats very fast for a few moments.

stutter-

(of a machine or gun) produce a series of short, sharp sounds.
"she flinched as a machine gun stuttered nearby"


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## johngiovanni

The dictionary gives "cuore: battere velocemente" for "palpitare".  Hence my suggestion.


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## sorry66

Yes, just like 'palpitate' - excellent!
palpitate -
(of the heart) beat rapidly, strongly, or irregularly.
"drink wakened him in the night with a palpitating heart"


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## ileana81

@johngiovanni ...thank you.

@sorry66 ...thank you

I had speculated good


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## sorry66

ileana81 said:


> potrebbe significare perdere un battito, oppure sussultare?


Not quite the same.


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## Pietruzzo

johngiovanni said:


> "Il cuore di Grace ha palpitato"  (?)


Cominciò a palpitare


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## johngiovanni

Ciao, Pietruzzo.  "Cominciò a palpitare" - sono d'accordo.  It's probably better in the context.


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## ileana81

@sorry66  I search the synonyms for 'palpitare'e and I found martellare=pound, pulsare=pulsate and sussultare=jerk

In practice, the heart rate increases

@Pietruzzo ...thanks


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## sorry66

ileana81 said:


> In practice, the heart rate increases


Ok, but it doesn't 'skip a beat' (perdere un battito)


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## Mary49

ileana81 said:


> potrebbe significare *perdere un battito*, oppure sussultare?


Per me *sì * 
Should heart stutters be cause of worry?    "For the past hour I have been having what I can best describe as heart stutters--it feels like my heart is trying to skip a beat".
Why Does My Heart Stutter Sometimes - Doctor answers on HealthTap     "My heart stopped for a matter of a second while sleeping. Is that a heart stutter? ..If you just felt a skip and a pause that was probably a skip beat called premature contraction ...".
http://dizionari.repubblica.it/Inglese-Italiano/S/tostutter.php?lingua=en  "funzionare male o a singhiozzi; verificarsi irregolarmente
◊ the engine stuttered and then it went dead il motore *perse colpi* e poi si fermò del tutto".


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## sorry66

Is a 'heart stutter' a medical term like 'heart murmur'? I don't think so. Aren't those people describing their own symptoms?
I think it's like 'palpitate', which from the definition above, also encompasses 'irregularity'.


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## johngiovanni

It does encompass irregularity: "noticeably rapid, strong, or irregular heartbeat due to agitation, exertion, or illness."


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## Archilochus

stutter=flutter: My heart fluttered when she came into the room.

"palpitare" is what the WR dictionary says for "flutter".


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## Mary49

I don't find "palpitate" as a synonym for "stutter":  I found great synonyms for "stutter" on the new Thesaurus.com!     "sputter stammer dribble falter hesitate splutter stumble "
I think that the action of the heart described in the OP is sudden and it can be perfectly described as a skipped heartbeat.


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## johngiovanni

stutter = flutter - I agree

*palpitate*
 (ˈpælpɪˌteɪt)
_vb_ (_intr_)
*1. *(Pathology) (of the heart) to beat with abnormal rapidity
*2. *to flutter or tremble
[C17: from Latin _palpitāre_ to throb, from _palpāre_ to stroke]


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## ileana81

@Mary49  forse perdere un battito e sussultare (le parole che ho scritto io) sono più specifiche a quando uno si spaventa.
In questo caso forse, è meglio dire che il battito cardiaco aumentò?


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## Archilochus

Well, we do say, sometimes, "She gave me heart palpitations."


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## Mary49

ileana81 said:


> @Mary49  In questo caso forse, è meglio dire che il battito cardiaco aumentò


Non sono d'accordo; When Your Heart Skips a Beat | MD-Health.com    "When your heart skips a beat it can feel as though your heart has stuttered for a moment. It can feel as though you cannot catch your breath or you may feel a sudden pounding sensation in the chest or throat. The heart may suddenly have a fluttering or jumping sensation that can feel slightly uncomfortable".


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## ileana81

@Mary49... ah ok grazie del chiarimento


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## sorry66

Obviously, as palpitations can be irregular, your heart may 'skip a bit' as part of the process but it's the rapid 'rhythm' which is the defining element.


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## Mary49

Potete interpretare come volete, ma io non tradurrei mai con "palpitò"  dopo avere letto la pagina in cui è presente l'espressione     qui.


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## sorry66

If you look at most 'heart stuttered' links, you see it's usually a synonym for 'her heart beat faster'  or 'her heart raced'. Often, in sexual scenes.
I don't see why it should be interpreted differently for this novel.
Remember the p-p-p-primary meaning of 'stutter'!


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## You little ripper!

I agree with Mary. In speech a 'stutter' is something that causes interruptions in the rhythm or flow of speech. A heart stutter is the same thing, in my opinion.

Heart stutter disorder now affects more than one million

_Dangerous heart rhythm disorder now affects more than a million people, with nearly 100,000 in the East of England and sufferers five times more likely to have a stroke.
More than a million people in the UK now live with atrial fibrillation (AF), including 99,388 in the East of England. _

It is possible, however, that the writer of the novel has misused the word.


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## sorry66

Yes,YLR, it's about rhythm and irregularity, not 'skipped beats', which implies something else.

'Atrial fibrillation causes an irregular, sometimes fast pulse because electrical impulses controlling the heart’s natural rhythm lose coordination.'


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## Mary49

sorry66 said:


> Remember the p-p-p-primary meaning of 'stutter'!


Stuttering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   "_...the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases *as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks* in which the person who stutters is unable to produce sounds.The term stuttering is most commonly associated with involuntary sound repetition, but *it also encompasses the abnormal hesitation or pausing* before speech, referred to by people who stutter as blocks, and the prolongation of certain sounds, usually vowels or semivowels_".
Stuttering   "_Speech may become completely *stopped or blocked*. Blocked is when the mouth is positioned to say a sound, sometimes for several seconds, with little or no sound forthcoming_".
Stuttering: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatments    "_The person with a stutter (or stammer) *may also stop* during speech and make no sound for certain syllables_".


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## ileana81

I do not know if it helps, but I found this link.
Heart Palpitations - Symptoms, Causes, Tests - NY Times Health Information

He speaks of palpitations, and refers to 'skip a beat'


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## sorry66

'My heart skips a beat' is an idiomatic cliché.

_'You're the only one that can make my heart skip a beat'
'Every time I see you, my heart skips a beat'
(Valentine's Day card tat)_

If someone uses my 'heart stuttered' idiomatically, they're looking for a variation on how to describe the physical sensation in the heart when you feel a surge of emotion.

So with 'stutter' as a metaphor, do you focus on the palpitations(repetitions)/pace or the pauses? You decide!


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## ileana81

@sorry66 thank you


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## MStraf

Purtroppo ho esperienza a riguardo avendo avuto un arresto cardiaco seguito da operazione due anni fa.
"Stutter" significa proprio "battito irregolare" (proprio come nel parlato), non necessariamente piu' veloce (in quel caso si usa "to race") o mancanza di un battito ("the heart skipped a beat"). Chi lo ha sperimentato lo capisce bene, sono sensazioni molto diverse tra loro. Mi ricordo il cardiologo che mi spiegava questi diversi sintomi battendosi la mano sul petto poi mostrandomi il elettrocardiogramma.

Nel contesto del OP, la ragazza sta provando una esperienza (rimembranza) mentalmente dolorosa che provoca uno scompenso elettrico al cuore, che comincia a pulsare in maniera non regolare. Non so come si dica in italiano, pressapoco "il suo cuore si mise a battere irregolarmente", sinceramente non so se "palpitare" sia corretto ma e' quello che avrei usato anche io.


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## ileana81

@MStraf ...grazie mille...


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