Are PVCs benign?

[researcher09]

Many people with symptomatic PVCs (ie you feel physical discomfort) are being told by their doctors that it is benign so learn to live with it.  It is not that simple.  UCSF has been doing studies showing that with time and progression, you can end up with cardiomyopathy and heart failure.  They are now doing studies on pigs to try to understand when they can say to patients "it is OK" or "we need to do something".  The most recent results were presented at the annual VT Symposium held at UPenn.  Look for the video recording of the following talk.

Mechanism of PVC-Induced Cardiomyopathy – New Insights
Edward Gerstenfeld, MD