Arrhythmias on ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring in women without apparent heart disease

• Published in: The American journal of cardiology Vol. 54; no. 6; pp. 582 - 586
• Main Authors: Romhilt, Donald W., Chaffin, Carole, Choi, Sung C., Irby, E.Claiborne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.09.1984
• Subjects: Adult; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - diagnosis; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - epidemiology; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - physiopathology; Coronary Disease - diagnosis; Electrocardiography; Female; Heart Rate; Heart Ventricles - physiopathology; Humans; Middle Aged; Random Allocation; Smoking
• ISSN: 0002-9149; 1879-1913
• DOI: 10.1016/0002-9149(84)90253-4

Cardiac arrhythmias were evaluated in apparently normal women by randomly selecting within the age decades of 20 to 60, 200 of the 788 women employees of a company. After exclusions for cardiac and medical reasons and refusals to participate, 101 subjects underwent 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring. The mean heart rate was 82 beats/min, but was higher in smokers (p < 0.05). Premature supraventricular contractions were present in 28 of 101 subjects (28 %); the prevalence increased with age (p < 0.001), but the frequency was less than 1 per hour in 24 of 28. PVCs occurred in 34 of 101 subjects (34%); the frequency was less than 1 per hour in 25 of 34. The PVCs were complex (Lown grade 3 or higher) in 10 (10%) and multifocal in 9 of 10; there was 1 couplet each in 3 and 1 run of 4 PVCs in 1 subject. PVCs were present in 20 of 42 subjects (48%) taking any medication (primarily oral contraceptives, estrogenic hormones and maintenance thyroid), compared with 14 of 59 subjects (24%) not taking medication (p < 0.01). In women younger than 40 years, PVCs were present in 8 of 15 women (53%) taking contraceptives, compared with 4 of 33 (12%) not taking contraceptives (p < 0.001). PVCs occurred in 7 of 12 subjects (58%) taking thyroid medication, compared with 27 of 89 (30%) not taking thyroid medication (p < 0.03). In the 59 subjects not taking medication only 1 subject averaged more than 1 PVC/hour and 1 had 1 couplet. Thus, the prevalence and frequency of cardiac arrhythmias were low in randomly sampled, apparently normal women; however, the prevalence of PVCs was significantly lower in subjects not taking medication.