Rachael Ison asked 3 months ago
Why It’s Important to See a Doctor
Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are a type of irregular heartbeat. These extra beats usually aren’t risky, and they may go away by themselves.
To determine PVC, doctors will listen to your heartbeat, and also check other vital signs. They might order an Holter Monitor that captures the electrical impulses of your heart over a time of between 24 and 48 hours. They can also order blood tests to check your electrolyte levels and thyroid hormones.
Diagnosis
PVCs are caused by electrical impulses that misfire through the SA node, which is a structure located in the lower chambers of the heart. This causes the next heartbeat to delay, which can cause the sensation of fluttering or skipped beats. PVCs can be seen in one pattern or in repeated patterns. Doublets are two consecutive PVCs. Ventricular tachycardia refers to three or more consecutive ones.
Some people don’t experience any symptoms at all, others feel palpitations, which can feel like an irregular heartbeat or a pounding. Other symptoms that are common are fatigue or dizziness, or a feeling of being unwell.
Many people who have occasional PVCs do not require any treatment. If a person has frequent episodes, doctors might recommend a change in diet or lifestyle, such as limiting alcohol, caffeine and stress. They might prescribe medication such as beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers to lower blood pressure and slow down the heart rate.
Doctors will ask the patient about their medical history and perform an examination to assess their general health. They may also employ an electrocardiogram (ECG) to take an image of the heart’s electrical activity or a Holter monitor, which is worn for longer durations and monitors the heart’s rhythms over time. Doctors may require blood tests in some instances to check for electrolyte imbalances or drug toxicity.
Occasionally, a pvc doctor may refer a patient to a specialist in heart rhythm problems, or an electrophysiologist, for further evaluation. The doctor will confirm a diagnosis of PVCs, and determine whether they are malignant or benign.
PVCs can be found everywhere and are not usually harmful when used frequently or for a long period of time. This could lead to a weakening of the heart muscle or a condition called pvc-induced cardiomyopathy. This is more common in older adults or those suffering from heart disease. It can also occur in healthy people with normal heart function, but this is more likely for those who exercise regularly. It’s not an issue that is serious however it is crucial to tell an expert if you notice symptoms like fainting or fatigue.
Treatment
For many, occasional PVCs might not cause symptoms or are harmless and need no treatment. But when you do experience a sensation like your heart is lagging the beat or is racing, it’s important to speak to a doctor as soon as possible.
A cardiologist will begin by interviewing you and performing a physical examination, and monitoring your heart using a stethoscope for any irregular beats. You’ll also get an electrocardiogram (ECG) performed that records the electrical signals in your heart and detect any arrhythmias. If an arrhythmia is found it is recommended to have an all-day Holter monitor or other portable ECG will be required to detect the abnormal rhythm over longer durations of time. These devices can help doctors determine whether you have PVCs and the cause of them, like an electrolyte imbalance, drug toxicity, or other factors.
An echocardiogram, an ultrasound of your heart, may be ordered to determine whether your heart is in good health and to look for signs of structural problems which could cause PVCs. You could also have a stress test to check how your heart reacts to exercise, since physical exercise can increase the frequency of your pvcs. You can also have blood tests to check your magnesium, potassium and thyroid hormone levels to find out if they are too low which could contribute to the formation of PVCs.
After your doctor has confirmed that you have PVCs and has eliminated any serious illnesses and has made a decision about whether or not to treat them will depend on how much they’re impacting your life and the frequency at which they occur. If they happen only infrequently and do not cause symptoms, your doctor is unlikely to prescribe any medication that can decrease their frequency or severity.
However, if you have frequent PVCs that cause heart palpitations, as well as other symptoms such as light-headedness or feeling like you’re going to faint, your physician might suggest medication like beta blockers or calcium channel blockers. Changes in your lifestyle, like avoiding caffeine, smoking and stress, can also decrease the frequency of these abnormal pulses.
The following is a list with preventions.
PVCs can cause no symptoms or heart palpitations, that can be described as “skipped beats” or flutters in your chest. Sometimes, these episodes can cause the chest to feel full or swollen in the chest, and at other times they can make a person feel faint. These episodes are caused by the heart not pumping as well as it should. Frequent PVCs increase the chance of developing dilated Cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart gets larger and becomes ineffective at pump blood.
PVCs are often caused by changes in body chemistry. This is due to the release of adrenaline and thyroid hormones as well as drinking alcohol or caffeine. Inactivity can also trigger these episodes and stress, as well as excessive weight.
Some people have found that a change in their diet can reduce their PVCs. They can, for instance avoid foods that contain preservatives that could cause disturbances to the heart rhythm. These include disodium guanylate and diazole, and disodium inosinate Sodium (E282-283). Eat more fruits and vegetables to ensure that you get enough magnesium.
It is important to get regular health check-ups, which include annual physicals and laboratory tests. These tests can help identify any heart issues that could be causing your PVCs. You should also follow an appropriate diet and refrain from smoking, which can increase the frequency of your episodes.
A survey of healthcare staff on 14 wards of a normal hospital found that they were mostly aware of the preventive measures to avoid infections caused by vascular catheters However, their self-assessed compliance with these measures was poor. Compliance improved following feedback interventions, but was still low on a few of the observed wards. This suggests that education on how to implement preventive measures is necessary and that wards that are not complying should be targeted for infection surveillance. This information can then be used to guide the implementation of further quality improvement initiatives for these wards. This will likely require additional education and training for personnel. It will also require making sure that the correct tools are available for implementing of the preventive measures.
Symptoms
The premature contraction of the ventricular muscle can cause your heartbeat to skip beats or be fluttering. These arrhythmias can be harmless or they may be the sign of heart problems.
In healthy people, occasional PVCs aren’t a problem and they usually disappear on their own. If you’ve got a lot of them, they can cause dizziness or weakness. Talk to your doctor if worried. You may need to give a medical history, and they might also perform an examination of the body to diagnose the problem. They may also want to conduct an electrocardiogram, or other tests.
A short ECG test allows your glass doctor to see the signal of your heartbeat moving through your body over an extremely short time. The test will show if you have PVCs. Your doctor may also decide to perform a 24- or 48-hour Holter monitor, which records your heartbeat for longer periods of time. These tests can help differentiate PVCs from arrhythmias causing heart palpitations. You can also wear an event monitor, which is a portable device which tracks your heart’s rhythm over 30 days.
Other tests for the heart may be required, based on the cause of your PVCs. A cardiologist can check your blood pressure or conduct an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart). This can help determine the presence of a medical condition that may be responsible for your PVCs or heart valves, such as mitral valve prolapse or heart failure.
Your doctor might also need to run a blood test to see what is wrong in your electrolytes, such as low potassium or high levels of calcium. This can be an indication of PVCs or other conditions that can cause them, such as anemia and anxiety disorders.
You could be directed to an electrophysiologist, a specialist who specializes in treating abnormal heart rhythms. The doctor may be required to conduct other tests if you suffer from structural heart diseases, such as an CT or MRI scan of your chest. These tests will tell you whether you’ve damaged your heart and how serious it is. In some instances, the doctor might suggest an implantable pacemaker or ICD to treat the underlying condition that’s the cause of your PVCs.