What does pvc mean on a heart monitor

Some PVC symptoms can be managed through lifestyle changes — limiting caffeine, tobacco and alcohol and stress, for example. Treatment for patients who experience PVCs on a regular basis includes medication such as beta blockers and calcium blockers. For patients whose symptoms are severe, a catheter ablation may be recommended. During catheter ablation, an electrophysiologist uses radiofrequency energy to cauterize the area of the heart where the PVCs originate. In patients with heart problems such as heart failure or heart disease, PVCs may be a sign of a more dangerous heart rhythm to come.

For more information about PVCs, visit our Health Library article on premature ventricular contractions. Premature atrial contractions PACs are premature heartbeats that are similar to PVCs, but occur in the upper chambers of the heart, an area known as the atria.

PACs do not typically cause damage to the heart and can occur in healthy individuals with no known heart disease. Show references Manolis AS. Ventricular premature beats. Accessed Dec. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. American Heart Association. Ip JE, et al. Idiopathic malignant premature ventricular contractions. Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine. Normally, a special group of cells begins the signal to start your heartbeat.

These cells are in the sinoatrial SA node in the right atrium. It travels to the left and right ventricle. As it travels, the signal triggers nearby parts of your heart to contract. This allows your heart to squeeze in a coordinated way. During a premature ventricular contraction, the signal to start your heartbeat instead comes from one of the ventricles.

This signal is premature, meaning it happens before the SA node has had a chance to fire. The signal spreads through the rest of your heart, causing a heartbeat. If this happens very soon after the previous heartbeat, your heart will push out very little blood.

This causes a feeling of a pause between beats. If it happens a little later, your heart pushes out an almost normal amount of blood. This leads to a feeling of an extra heartbeat. They often happen in people without any heart disease. From the sinus node, electrical impulses travel across the atria to the ventricles, causing them to contract and pump blood to your lungs and body. PVCs are abnormal contractions that begin in the ventricles. These extra contractions usually beat sooner than the next expected regular heartbeat.

And they often interrupt the normal order of pumping, which is the atria first, then the ventricles. The reasons aren't always clear. Certain triggers, heart diseases or changes in the body can make cells in the ventricles electrically unstable. Heart disease or scarring may also cause electrical impulses to be misrouted. Having frequent PVCs or certain patterns of them might increase your risk of developing heart rhythm problems arrhythmias or weakening of the heart muscle cardiomyopathy.

Rarely, when accompanied by heart disease, frequent premature contractions can lead to chaotic, dangerous heart rhythms and possibly sudden cardiac death. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.