Premature ventricular contraction classification

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Mugilan Poongkunran M.B.B.S [2]

Overview

Premature ventricular contractions can be classified based upon the number of normal beats between them.

Classification

• There are four different named patterns of regularly occurring PVCs.
• Depending whether there are 1, 2, or 3 normal beats between each PVC, the rhythm is called bigeminy, trigeminy, or quadrigeminy.
• Unifocal PVCs are triggered from a single site in the ventricle, causing the peaks on the ECG to look the same.
• Multifocal PVCs arise when more than one site in the ventricles initiate depolarization, causing each peak on the ECG to have a different shape. If 3 or more PVCs occur in a row it may be called ventricular tachycardia.