![]() If the results are normal, there really is no need for any additional testing. Even with symptoms typical for PACs and PVCs, a patient should undergo two basic cardiac tests: an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) and a Holter Monitor (heart rhythm recording for 24 hours). In an older person, say greater than 60 with other medical problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, or prior heart attack, other forms of arrhythmia must be considered. In a young, healthy individual with the symptoms I have previously described, PACs, PVCs, or both are the cause in most cases. PACs and PVCs are diagnosed primarily by a patient’s clinical history and treatment is symptom-based. The presence of these “extra” heartbeats does not predict or indicate that the person will develop more lethal or malignant forms of arrhythmias. If the sinus node were ever to fail (and it does think of your mother or father or grandparent who has a pacemaker) they can act as a back-up pacemaker and keep the heart beating along!Īnother important fact to know about PACs and PVCs is that they are not harbingers of worse things to come. The purpose of cardiac tissue is to produce theses impulses. The production of these ectopic beats is completely and totally benign. The discharge of these “ectopic” rhythms then causes the sinus node to reset with a resultant pause or feeling of a skipped beat. Because almost all the cardiac tissue can do the same thing, there can also be “rogue” cells in the atria (upper chambers which generate PACs) or ventricles (lower chambers which generate PVCs) that produce a cardiac impulse between the normal cycle of the sinus node and viola. In order to pump blood, the sinus node typically produces a heartbeat that all the other cardiac tissue use to stimulate the contraction of the heart muscle. They occur because almost all the cells in the heart have an intrinsic ability to produce a heartbeat. PACs and PVCs are not dangerous or life-threatening in any way. The good news is that PACs and PVCs are normal they are naturally occurring beats with an out of sync timing. ![]() When these premature beats occur, it causes the feeling of an irregular beat and sometimes the feeling of a pause or skipping of heartbeats. These impulses occur prematurely, originating in the sinus node, which is the pacemaker of the heart. Depending on where these impulses to beat are generated, they are called either PACs (premature atrial contractions) or PVCs (premature ventricular contractions). For more than 95% of people, palpitations typically correspond with premature beating of the heart. Without recording the heart rhythm at the time of the symptoms, it is difficult to determine a hearth rhythm at the exact moment of palpitations. So in medical terms, palpitations are the sensation of a rapid or strongly beating heart rhythm. So what are palpitations? To palpitate is to beat rapidly and strongly. I will try to address these questions and hopefully set your mind at ease, if you are experiencing such symptoms. Are they a predictor of more malignant or life-threatening arrhythmias?.Are they dangerous or life-threatening?.Common questions regarding the matter are: One of the most common complaints I have come across in the practice of cardiology are the symptoms I have described above, which are lumped into this broad diagnostic category of “palpitations”. Have you ever experienced the feeling of your heart fluttering, skipping a beat, or pausing? How about the feeling of an irregular heart rhythm with two or three quick beats in a row? If you have encountered such a sensation, then you are joined by the millions of people who also suffer from palpitations. Board Certified: Internal Medicine- Cardiovascular Diseases
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