Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. It looks like your browser does not have JavaScript enabled. Please turn on JavaScript and try again. Important Phone Numbers. Top of the page. Topic Overview Premature ventricular contractions PVCs are heartbeats that occur earlier than they should. But the chance of having PVCs can be increased by: Having too much or too little of certain minerals electrolytes in your body.
Having too little oxygen in your blood, which could happen if you have COPD or pneumonia. Using some medicines, such as salbutamol. Having too much caffeine or alcohol. Related Information Change in Heartbeat. Circulation, published online October 30, DOI: Accessed November 6, Specific arrhythmias: Diagnosis and treatment. Beta blockers — which are often used to treat high blood pressure and heart disease — can suppress premature contractions. Other medications, such as calcium channel blockers, or anti-arrhythmic drugs, such as amiodarone Pacerone or flecainide Tambocor , also might be used if you have ventricular tachycardia or frequent PVCs that interfere with your heart's function.
Explore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition. You're likely to start by seeing your family doctor. Or you might be referred to a doctor trained in diagnosing and treating heart conditions cardiologist. Take a friend or relative with you, if possible, to help you remember the information you receive.
Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Diagnosis An electrocardiogram ECG can detect the extra beats and identify the pattern and source.
Once PVCs are documented it is often useful to proceed with an echocardiogram to evaluate for underlying structural heart disease and exercise stress testing to assess the impact of physical activity on PVCs.
Additional diagnostic tests Nuclear perfusion study, cardiac catheterization, cardiac MRI, etc should be based on the individual clinical scenario. PVC therapies: From a clinical perspective it is useful to divide patients with frequent PVCs into those with and those without structural heart disease:.
PVCs in patients with structural heart disease such as LVH, cardiomyopathy, and congestive heart failure, prior myocardial infarction, etc. Often the PVCs show a right bundle branch block originating from the left ventricle with variable axis pattern. A more subtle form of cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, which typically presents with a left bundle branch PVC pattern, also needs to be considered, and clinical clues to this disorder are the presence of inverted T-waves in leads V1 through V3, the presence of low amplitude potentials, delayed slurred QRS in leads V1 and V2, and the presence of right ventricular wall motion abnormalities on a carefully performed echocardiogram ref 2.
Therapeutic options:. If they learn to avoid potential triggers such as stress, alcohol or caffeine, this may be all that is required.
This therapy is especially useful in patients with idiopathic PVCs in the absence of structural heart disease and in patients with monomorphic PVCs.
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