Premature Ventricular Contractions (cont.)
Daniel Lee Kulick, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Dr. Kulick received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Southern California, School of Medicine. He performed his residency in internal medicine at the Harbor-University of California Los Angeles Medical Center and a fellowship in the section of cardiology at the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology.
Dennis Lee, MD
Dr. Lee was born in Shanghai, China, and received his college and medical training in the United States. He is fluent in English and three Chinese dialects. He graduated with chemistry departmental honors from Harvey Mudd College. He was appointed president of AOA society at UCLA School of Medicine. He underwent internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship training at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.
William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
In this Article
- What are premature ventricular contractions (PVCs)?
- What happens during a premature ventricular contraction?
- How common are premature ventricular contractions?
- What causes premature ventricular contractions?
- What are premature ventricular contraction symptoms?
- What are the dangers of premature ventricular contractions?
- How is premature ventricular contraction diagnosed?
- What are the treatments for premature ventricular contractions?
- Find a local Cardiologist in your town
What are the dangers of premature ventricular contractions?
Premature ventricular contractions in healthy individuals without high blood pressure and heart diseases do not pose any health risks. Premature ventricular contractions in patients with heart diseases (heart attacks, heart failure, diseases of the heart valves) may be associated with increased risks of developing ventricular tachycardia. Ventricular tachycardia is a sustained run of rapid ventricular contractions. Ventricular tachycardia is life-threatening because: 1) it occurs suddenly with no prior warning, and 2) it frequently develops into ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation is a chaotic rhythm where the ventricles quiver rapidly in a purposeless fashion. The heart with ventricular fibrillation cannot pump blood effectively to the brain and the rest of the body. If untreated, ventricular fibrillation can be fatal within minutes. An estimated 250,000 Americans die in this way each year.
Many doctors believe that premature ventricular contractions do not necessarily cause ventricular tachycardias or ventricular fibrillations. Instead, premature ventricular contractions may be merely indicators (symptoms) of serious heart diseases or other serious conditions such as hypokalemia, hypoxia, and on-going heart damage from heart attacks, or medications such as digoxin and aminophylline toxicity. It must be emphasized that many premature ventricular contractions are harmless (benign) and not associated with structural heart disease. If the work up for underlying heart disease is unrevealing, the patient can be assured that their prognosis is excellent.
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