Premature ventricular beats: are they always benign? Diagnostic and therapeutic aspects

• Published in: Giornale italiano di cardiologia (2006) Vol. 20; no. 4; p. 223
• Main Authors: Barbato, Gaetano, Pergolini, Francesco, Carinci, Valeria, Colletta, Mauro, Di Pasquale, Giuseppe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Italian
• Published: Italy 01.04.2019
• Subjects: Catheter Ablation - methods; Heart Diseases - physiopathology; Humans; Prognosis; Ventricular Dysfunction - diagnosis; Ventricular Dysfunction - etiology; Ventricular Dysfunction - therapy; Ventricular Premature Complexes - complications; Ventricular Premature Complexes - diagnosis; Ventricular Premature Complexes - therapy
• DOI: 10.1714/3126.31075

Premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) are usually benign, and commonly only severely symptomatic patients are treated. In the literature, frequent PVCs have been reported to cause ventricular dysfunction, which may improve after PVC treatment. PVCs can also worsen the prognosis in patients with structural heart disease. Catheter PVC ablation is often the treatment of choice considering the high success rates. Ventricular dysfunction due to frequent PVCs is not always easy to identify as patients can be asymptomatic and the interpretation of imaging tests may be challenging in the presence of frequent PVCs. Treatment of patients with mild ventricular dysfunction is still a matter of debate.