Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is It?CausesSymptomsIs It Serious?Testing to Diagnose Ventricular EctopyWhen to Seek Medical CareVentricular Ectopy Treatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is It?
Causes
Symptoms
Is It Serious?
Testing to Diagnose Ventricular Ectopy
When to Seek Medical Care
Ventricular Ectopy Treatment
This article discusses what ventricular ectopy is, its causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.
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What Is Ventricular Ectopy?
To understand ventricular ectopy, it’s helpful to consider theheart’s anatomy. The heart has four chambers. The two upper chambers are called the atria. The two bottom chambers are each called ventricles. Each chamber has a specific job: to receive blood from or to pump blood out to elsewhere in the body.
When anabnormal heartbeatstarts in one of those two lower chambers, it’s called ventricular ectopy. In most cases, there is no underlying disease or cause.
Ventricular ectopy can affect anyone at any age. However, it is less common in children than adults unless they are born withcongenital heart disease.
Other names for ventricular ectopy are premature ventricular contraction (PVC) and ventricular premature beats. PVC and premature atrial contractions (PAC) (which start in the atria) are the most common ectopic heartbeats.
What Causes Ventricular Ectopy?
Causes of ventricular ectopy or any ectopic heartbeat can include:
Certain risk factors also increase your chance of experiencing an ectopic heartbeat. These include:
That said, at some point, nearly everyone experiences an ectopic heartbeat, including ventricular ectopy.
Symptoms of Ventricular Ectopy
Sometimes, ventricular ectopy has no symptoms at all.
When it does have symptoms, they can include:
Is Ectopic Heartbeat Serious?
Ectopic heartbeat and ventricular ectopy are not usually serious, especially if abnormal heartbeats only occur occasionally.
If you or your healthcare provider suspects ventricular ectopy, they will take your medical history and perform a physical. They may also perform anelectrocardiogram(ECG/EKG), a test frequently used to check the heart’s electrical signals and detect heart problems.
If nothing unusual is found with an ECG, your healthcare provider may not take any other tests. If they want to further explore potential heart issues, they may order:
Is Still’s Murmur (Musical Heart) Dangerous?
When to See a Healthcare Provider
You should see a healthcare provider for an ectopic heartbeat if you find yourself experiencing it more frequently or are worried about changes to your heartbeat.
When to Seek Heart Emergency Care
You should call 911 if you or someone you are with has any of the following heart symptoms:
If your heart is structurally normal, you may not need any medical treatment for ventricular ectopy. Instead, your healthcare provider may recommend lifestyle changes to reduce the chance of experiencing ventricular ectopy. These could include:
Sometimes, you may need medical treatments for ventricular ectopy. This would include using prescription medications likebeta-blockersorcalcium channel blockersto better control your heart rate.
A short procedure calledcatheter ablationis also sometimes used for ventricular ectopy.With this procedure, your healthcare provider finds where the abnormal heartbeats begin and provides high-frequency energy to destroy and eliminate the tissue.
Summary
Ventricular ectopy has many causes, including alcohol, caffeine, anxiety, medication, decreased blood supply, and hormonal changes.Your healthcare provider may use an ECG/EKG to diagnose ventricular ectopy. Treatment includes medications, lifestyle changes, and possibly, a catheter ablation procedure.
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mount Sinai Hospital.Ectopic heartbeat.U.S. National Library of Medicine.Ectopic heartbeat.Merck Manual (Consumer Version).Ventricular premature beats.Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.Normal sinus rhythm with ventricular ectopics.American College of Emergency Physicians.Heart attack.UpToDate.Premature ventricular complexes: treatment and prognosis.
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mount Sinai Hospital.Ectopic heartbeat.U.S. National Library of Medicine.Ectopic heartbeat.Merck Manual (Consumer Version).Ventricular premature beats.Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.Normal sinus rhythm with ventricular ectopics.American College of Emergency Physicians.Heart attack.UpToDate.Premature ventricular complexes: treatment and prognosis.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Mount Sinai Hospital.Ectopic heartbeat.U.S. National Library of Medicine.Ectopic heartbeat.Merck Manual (Consumer Version).Ventricular premature beats.Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.Normal sinus rhythm with ventricular ectopics.American College of Emergency Physicians.Heart attack.UpToDate.Premature ventricular complexes: treatment and prognosis.
Mount Sinai Hospital.Ectopic heartbeat.
U.S. National Library of Medicine.Ectopic heartbeat.
Merck Manual (Consumer Version).Ventricular premature beats.
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.Normal sinus rhythm with ventricular ectopics.
American College of Emergency Physicians.Heart attack.
UpToDate.Premature ventricular complexes: treatment and prognosis.
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