RT Book, Section
A1 Prystowsky, Eric N.
A2 Prystowsky, Eric N.
A2 Klein, George J.
A2 Daubert, James P.
SR Print(0)
ID 1176521967
T1 Electrocardiographic Consequences of Atrial and Ventricular Ectopy
T2 Cardiac Arrhythmias: Interpretation, Diagnosis, and Treatment, 2e
YR 2020
FD 2020
PB McGraw Hill
PP New York, NY
SN 9781260118209
LK accesscardiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1176521967
RD 2024/04/20
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.