Premature Ventricular Contractions (cont.)
What are premature ventricular contraction symptoms?
Patients with mild infrequent premature ventricular contractions often report no
symptoms (asymptomatic) and are unaware of their
premature ventricular contractions. Their premature
ventricular contractions may be
discovered when an electrocardiogram (ECG, EKG) is performed for a routine physical, insurance physical,
or preoperative evaluation.
Patients with premature ventricular contractions sometimes report
palpitations in the
chest and in the neck. Palpitations are discomforting feelings due to
forceful heartbeats. The heart beat immediately after a premature ventricular
contraction is usually stronger
(the heart ventricle contracts more forcefully) than normal. Patients with
premature ventricular contractions
may report feeling that the heart has stopped briefly. This is because there is
usually a brief pause in heartbeat after a premature ventricular contraction when the electrical system of the
heart resets. Moreover, the actual premature ventricular contraction beat may not be felt because the heart hasn't had time to fill with blood before beating so patients with PVC's often complain of
"skipped" or "missed" beats.
Patients with frequent premature ventricular contractions such as bigeminy (every other
heartbeat is a premature
ventricular contraction), couplets (two
consecutive premature ventricular contractions), or triplets (three consecutive
premature ventricular contractions) often report no
symptoms. But in rare occasions they may report weakness, dizziness,
or fainting. This is because frequent
premature ventricular contractions can diminish the ability of the heart to pump blood to the other organs
(diminished cardiac output),
resulting in low blood pressure.
Patients with three or more consecutive premature ventricular contractions in a row have ventricular tachycardia. Ventricular tachycardia that is prolonged can result in low
cardiac output, low blood pressure, and
fainting (syncope). Ventricular
tachycardia can also develop into
ventricular fibrillation, which is a fatal heart rhythm (see below).
Next: What are the dangers of premature ventricular
contractions? »
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