Why do you all think you have PVCs?

[is_something_wrong]

I can't help but notice since I joined this community some months ago, people with skipped beats or palpitations tend to ask questions about PVCs. Like all flips in the chest are PVCs.

The upper chambers in the heart are more "irritable" than the main chambers. In other words, they are more likely to produce premature beats (PACs). A few examples:

Which is more common - A-fib (atrial) or V-fib (ventricular)?
Which is more common - SVT (atrial) or VT (V-tach) (ventricular)?

Both PACs and PVCs are usually benign, so it's really not an issue, I was just a little curious.

Even so-called "wide complex beats" on EKG are often PACs. If a PAC occurs very early, it can show as a wide complex on EKG, because the right ventricle is a little slower recovering than the left, leading the electricity to the left ventricle, and then to the right, thus mimic a PVC that origin in the left ventricle.

Just so you know :-)

[is_something_wrong]

A little Norwegian crash course, Google translate is not useful translating these terms:

Forkamrene = Upper chambers (atrias)

It also tends to use the expressions: Extra layer, extra battle or extra stroke for "extrasystoles". Stupid thing...

[is_something_wrong]

You can, for instance, look at this (Q and A from a Norwegian cardiologist)

http://doktoronline.no/qa/forum/34/qa3414078.html

You might want to use Google Translate, though the translation is really weird. Hopefully you'll understand some of it :-)

Itdood: I really hope I didn't offend you in any way. I have great respect for you and your answers, I hope I don't insult you and I don't want to start a "fight" here :-)

[itdood]

Do you have a source for this statement?

"  'wide complex beats' on EKG are often PACs"

[bypeep]

I had a 24hr Holter recently and thought for sure I was having PVC's because each time I'd get a palp, I could literally hear it through my chest and it felt like I was getting punched.  I tagged each event and when the report came back, they were PAC's.  They gave me a copy of the strips and I went over them assuming that they "had" to be strange PAC's to be so forceful, but nope, just a tiny blip and nothing out of the ordinary.  

[Mom2four85]

take a gander at my ekg's in my profile :P that's only a small portion of the ekg's I've had done in the past year - I wish I had the ekg's from the hospital where I had all kinds of different arrythmia's all on the same ekg; I'll have to send to all the places and get them and post them

I've got some wide QRS segments - weird ones during my treadmill test; dr's are amazed at and wonder why I don't camp their doorsteps when I've had pvc's back to back 24/7.  

Pvc's - the darn things HURT - that "dropped" HB is enough for anyone to pause.   I developed pac's (caught on monitors) after I had surgery and I had no clue what they were and asked - PAC's - mine felt more like a flutter - tickling, than the "thud" I felt with pvc's.  Also, I know my EP told me when your HR is lower, you tend to feel arrythmia's more I don't know how much that affects others as well.

From my experience - I think A-Fib and Svt is the more common thing, but VT and Pvc's are felt more frequently, but I don't know I'm not a dr just a patient with a very perplexing heart & neurological system :P

[is_something_wrong]

Hi,

Yes, that's a normally conducted PAC.

I saw a wide complex PAC in my EKG after stress test. I freaked out and was sure it was a PVC (that's when I was afraid of that). My cardiologist said, uhm.. that one's.. uhm.. supraventricular.

An example of this from the literature:

http://library.med.utah.edu/kw/ecg/ecg_outline/Lesson5/ventricular.html

(funny enough the name is: Not all sore thumbs are PVC's :-)