TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Electrocardiographic Consequences of Atrial and Ventricular Ectopy A1 - Prystowsky, Eric N. A2 - Prystowsky, Eric N. A2 - Klein, George J. A2 - Daubert, James P. PY - 2020 T2 - Cardiac Arrhythmias: Interpretation, Diagnosis, and Treatment, 2e AB - Ectopic complexes arise from areas other than the sinus node and, when manifest, disturb the normal sequence of automaticity and conduction in the heart. Premature complexes most commonly originate in the ventricles and atria but may also occur in the atrioventricular (AV) junction. Regarding terminology, ectopic does not refer to a mechanism but to the origin of the complex outside the sinus nodal area. Mechanisms include automaticity and reentry and are discussed in more detail in Chapter 5. These abnormal complexes are often referred to as beats, although technically a beat suggests a stroke or pulsation of the pulse or heart, whereas PVCs and PACs are actually electrical events and may not be coupled with contraction. Regardless, premature beats is a term so ingrained in the literature that it is not worth altering merely for semantics. This chapter discusses the electrocardiographic (ECG) consequences of premature complexes. SN - PB - McGraw Hill CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/19 UR - accesscardiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1176521967 ER -