Frequent ventricular ectopic activity without underlying cardiac disease: analysis of 45 subjects |
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Authors: | T J Montague D D McPherson B R MacKenzie C A Spencer M A Nanton B M Horacek |
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Affiliation: | 1. From the Departments of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics, and Pediatrics, Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada;2. The Victoria General Hospital Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada;3. From the Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
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Abstract: | Forty-five subjects, aged 2 weeks to 62 years, who presented with frequent (greater than 100/day) ventricular ectopic beats (VEBs) and without evidence of underlying cardiac disease were studied. The spectrum of ventricular dysrhythmia was assessed by 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography and exercise tolerance test. Sinus rhythm was the prevailing rhythm in all subjects. VEB frequency averaged 444 +/- 454 per hour (range 0 to 1,863) over the 24-hour monitoring period and was not significantly different during waking or sleeping periods. There was no simple correlation of VEB frequency with prevailing sinus rate (r = -0.0006; p = not significant [NS]). The prevalence of complex VEBs (multiform, R-on-T and repetitive) was relatively high (18 of 45 patients), and was equally distributed about the median VEB frequency of 314 VEBs/hour (7 of 18 versus 11 of 18; NS). Of the 43 subjects who had exercise tests, 37 had VEBs during the preexercise rest phase, compared with only 11 at peak exercise (p less than 0.0001). To assess the short-term natural history of the VEBs, 27 subjects had repeat clinical examinations and 24-hour electrocardiograms at a mean interval of 8 months. All remained well. Although there was considerable individual temporal variability of VEB frequency in this subgroup, there was no significant change in group mean values (415 +/- 409 VEBs/hour initially versus 401 +/- 383 VEBs/hour at follow-up study; NS). The relative temporal constancy of VEB frequency in the group as a whole was also reflected in a high linear correlation of VEB frequency at initial and follow-up studies (r = 0.816; p less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) |
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Keywords: | Address for reprints: T. J. Montague MD Department of Medicine (Cardiology) Room 3054 Ambulatory Care Centre Victoria General Hospital Halifax Nova Scotia Canada B3H 2Y9. |
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