What is supraventricular extrasytoles?

Question

I recently recieved a physical for college and the doctor decided to do an EKG on me and showed my sinus rhythm with supraventricular extrasystoles. What's this mean?? He reccomended me reducing my caffene intake and recheck in 1-2 months.

Answer 1

http://www.acc.org/qualityandscience/clinical/guidelines/arrhythmias/V_specific.htm

Answer 2

LaToya did for the most part a great job of explaining what you need to know to understand this bit of medical jargon.

One important point of error though - "supra" indicates that the source originates ABOVE the ventricle - which could me the atria or in the electrical system below the atria (sometimes referred to as the "junction") and above the ventricle. Therefore rather than premature ventricular contractions - these would be premature atrial contractions - also known as PAC's.

They are common and typically harmless. Usually they are promoted by caffiene and other stimulants (diet pills, work out supplements) and stress (like lack of sleep or drinking the night before or just stressing about exams). They do not indicate any serious heart problem as you describe it. I think your doctor is being very prudent to follow up with you in a month. If he/she were to see "runs" (multiple versions of these rhythms happening consecutively all at once) then it would require some intervention...especially if you were short of breath, had chest pain, were sweaty, and/or had a near passing out spell. I heard none of that - in fact you were not even aware they were occurring.

Therefore, I would not worry about it at all. Good luck.

Answer 3

Supraventricular extrasystoles are also known as
Premature ventricular contractions?

Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are premature heartbeats originating from the ventricles of the heart. PVCs are premature because they occur before the regular heartbeat.

Normal function of the heart

The heart has four chambers. The upper two chambers are the atria, and the lower two chambers are the ventricles. The atria deliver blood to the ventricles, and the ventricles deliver blood to the lungs and to the rest of the body. (The right ventricle delivers blood to the lungs while the left ventricle delivers blood to the rest of the body). The heartbeat (pulse) that we feel is caused by the contraction of the ventricles.

The heartbeat is normally controlled by the electrical system of the heart. The electrical system of the heart consists of the SA node (sino-atrial node), the AV node (atrio-ventricular node) and special tissues in the ventricles that conduct electricity.

The SA node is the heart's electrical pacemaker. It is a small patch of cells located in the wall of the right atrium; the frequency with which the SA node discharges electricity determines the rate at which the heart normally beats. The SA node keeps the heart beating in a regular manner. At rest, the frequency of the electrical discharges originating from the SA node is low, and the heart beats at the lower range of normal (60-80 beats/minute). During exercise or excitement, the frequency of discharges from the SA node increases, increasing the rate at which the heart beats.

The electrical discharges pass from the SA node, through the special tissues of the atria into the AV node, and through the AV node to the special conduction tissues of the ventricles and causing the ventricles to contract.

What happens during a premature ventricular contraction?

During a premature ventricular contraction, the ventricle electrically discharges (and contracts) prematurely before the normal electrical discharges arrive from the SA node. These premature discharges are due to electrical “irritability” of the heart muscle of the ventricles, and can be caused by heart attacks, electrolyte imbalances, lack of oxygen, or medications. Immediately after a premature ventricular contraction, the electrical system of the heart resets. This resetting cause a brief pause in heartbeat, and some patients report feeling the heart briefly stopping after a premature ventricular contraction.

Hope this helps

Answer 4

It's a sign of a possible heart problem. Tests have shown that people who have se often have heart problems.

Next time ask the doctor what something means if you don't understand it. When my doctor uses terms like that, I ask him to translate into human.

Answer 5

its a sort of heart beats that originates from points in the atria other than the usual point...and its usually very fast with herat beats more than 180/m....it could be a real problem in your genetics that needs med...but usually its because of coffe tea,smoking and stress...so you have to check it out every now and then

Answer 6

Irregular contractions of the heart caused by a particular part of the heart.