Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the relation between epicardial fat tissue (EFT) thickness and frequent premature ventricular contractions. Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, patients with no structural heart diseases diagnosed with PVCs on a 24 holter rhythm monitoring were included. EFT thickness was measured by 2-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography. PVCs of more than 10 per hour were considered as frequent PVCs. To investigate the effect of independent variables, univariate logistic regression was performed. Results: Of total 50 studied patients, 64% were females. The mean age of subjects was 46.8 ± 13.1 years. Twenty-five patients were experiencing frequent PVCs of >10 per hour. In univariate analysis, age (OR= 1.05, 95 % CI; 1.01-1.10, p=0.050), left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) (OR= 1.14, 95 % CI; 1.01-1.28, p=0.036) and left atrial (LA) diameter (OR= 1.35, 95 % CI; 1.11-1.62, p=0.002) were significantly associated with developing frequent PVC. EFT thickness was positively correlated with age (r= 0.389, p= 0.005) and inter-ventricular septum thickness in diastole (IVSD) (r= 0.384, p= 0.006). No significant correlation between EFT and PVCs was found (p=0.669). Conclusion: Patients with frequent PVCs had significantly higher LVEDD and LA diameter. Although patients with higher EFT thickness were more likely to experience frequent PVCs, there was no statistically significant correlation between EFT thickness and frequent PVCs.
Highlights
Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are one of the most common arrhythmias, with the reported prevalence of about 40 to 75% in general population on 24-48 hour holter monitoring and between 1 to 4% in patients detected by 12-lead electrocardiography.[1,2] PVC is an early depolarization arising from the ventricles and is characterized by premature QRS complexes that appear wide and are not preceded by a p wave in electrocardiogram.[3,4] The majority of patients are asymptomatic, but PVCs are a common cause of a variety of symptoms such as palpitation, feeling of pause in cardiac beats, dizziness and rarely ventricular tachycardia accompanied by shortness of breath, chest discomfort, hypotension or/and syncope.[3]
PVCs are often associated with structural heart diseases and can result in some cardiovascular effects including ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction as well as decreased ventricular capacity and can deteriorate existing cardiomyopathy, in which case, PVC suppression may only make a relative improvement in left ventricular dysfunction.[1,2]
The Current study revealed that patients with higher left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) and left atrial (LA) diameter were experiencing frequent PVCs
Summary
Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are one of the most common arrhythmias, with the reported prevalence of about 40 to 75% in general population on 24-48 hour holter monitoring and between 1 to 4% in patients detected by 12-lead electrocardiography.[1,2] PVC is an early depolarization arising from the ventricles and is characterized by premature QRS complexes that appear wide (usually>120mseq) and are not preceded by a p wave in electrocardiogram.[3,4] The majority of patients are asymptomatic, but PVCs are a common cause of a variety of symptoms such as palpitation, feeling of pause in cardiac beats, dizziness and rarely ventricular tachycardia accompanied by shortness of breath, chest discomfort, hypotension or/and syncope.[3]. The amounts of PVC attacks of more than 10-25% of total heart beats in a day have been reported to be associated with decreased ventricular function, ventricular dilation, and increased risk of cardiomyopathy.[2,6] Related risk factors and etiology of PVC are not fully known in patients with normal heart structure. Some cardiac disorders such as ischemia, myocardial hypertrophy, cardiomyopathy and chronic heart failure have been reported to be potential predisposing factors in developing frequent PVCs in patients suffering from structural heart diseases.[1,7] PVCs are often associated with structural heart diseases and can result in some cardiovascular effects including ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction as well as decreased ventricular capacity and can deteriorate existing cardiomyopathy, in which case, PVC suppression may only make a relative improvement in left ventricular dysfunction.[1,2]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
