premature ectopic complexes

  Hi.  I just had an ECG which read as follows:
  NORMAL SINUS RHYTHM WITH FREQUENT PREMATURE ECTOPIC COMPLEXES
  OTHERWISE NORMAL ECG
  Vent. rate 84 bpm
  PR interval 172 ms
  QRS duration 76 ms
  QT/QTc 380/443 ms
  P-R-T axes 70 43 31
  (Female, 5'4", 113 lbs, blood pressure 100/70 or so)
  I understand from my internist & from web articles that this isn't
  life-threatening.  I gather that I have an atrial or supraventicular
  arrythmia, and that the usual environmental factors are stress,
  tobacco, caffeine, and alcohol.  I don't smoke or drink, and I had
  LESS caffeine than usual (a couple of orange jelly sticks!), so I
  guess that would leave stress, but I haven't had more of THAT than
  usual, either.  I'm 45, on Prempro for 10 years.  My heart feels
  like it's thudding around and then absent-minded about beating.  I
  know this isn't the worst thing in the world, but it bothers me
  and scares me.  Is it permanent?  What should I be doing other than
  not thinking about it????:-)  How can I make it stop this nonsense!
  Does this make me vulnerable to heart disease or other disorders?
  Could this be a consequence of premature ovarian failure or taking
  Prempro for this many years?
  Thank you so much for helping people like me over the web.

[CCF CARDIO MD DLB]

_
Premature beats can be from either the top chambers (atria) or bottom chambers (ventricles) of the heart.  The majority of the time, premature beats are benign.  Eliminating (not just reducing) tobacco, alcohol and caffeine can be useful in certain cases.  Premature beats can be a source of considerable concern and aggravation to an individual patient.  If a patient is bothered by premature beats because of a fear of serious underlying heart disease, many times an exercise stress test with an echocardiogram is performed; this evaluates exercise capacity, determines whether the premature beats degenerate to a more serious heart rhythm disturbance with exercise, evaluates the heart for structural abnormalities, and also examines the heart for possible blood flow problems.  If this sort of evaluation does not indicate any serious cardiac condition, but the patient is still bothered by the premature beats, medications can be prescribed, with modest success.  Sometimes several medications need to be tried.  Of course, all medications have potential side effects; therefore, medications are used only if the premature beats are really interfering with a patient