Premature Ventricular Contraction

A Premature Ventricular Contraction is a type of irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, that occurs when the ventricles contract earlier than they should. PVCs are often described as "extra" or "premature" beats.

ECG Features

Heart rate: May Vary

P waves: Absent

QRS complex: wide where the PVC present

PR interval: N/A where the PVC occur

Rhythm: Regular except where disturbed by PVC

PVCs often occur in repeating patterns:

• Bigeminy — every other beat is a PVC

• Trigeminy — every third beat is a PVC

• Quadrigeminy — every fourth beat is a PVC

• Couplet — two consecutive PVCs

• NSVT — between three and thirty consecutive PVCs

Example:1

Example:2