What are the dangers of frequent premature heartbeats?
Mar 03, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Tian Hongbo
Introduction
Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) refer to premature heartbeats. The risks associated with frequent premature contractions include impaired cardiac function, induction of tachycardia, myocardial ischemia, development of heart failure, and an increased risk of thrombosis. In daily life, it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, follow a regular作息 (routine作息 should be translated as "routine作息" might be a mistranslation here, but since it's in the original text, keep it as is or consider revising to "routine作息" or "regular作息"), avoid staying up late, ensure adequate sleep, maintain a balanced diet, and reduce the intake of stimulating beverages such as coffee, strong tea, and alcohol.
Generally speaking, cardiac premature beats refer to premature contractions. The risks associated with frequent premature contractions include impaired cardiac function, induction of tachycardia, myocardial ischemia, development of heart failure, and increased risk of thrombosis. The specific analyses are as follows:
1. Impaired Cardiac Function
Frequent premature contractions can disrupt the normal rhythm of the heart, affecting its pumping function. After each premature contraction, there is often a compensatory pause, which shortens the diastolic phase of the heart and reduces venous return. Long-term effects may lead to decreased cardiac output, impair systemic circulation, and potentially cause symptoms such as fatigue and dizziness.
2. Induction of Tachycardia
Frequent premature contractions alter the heart's electrophysiological activity, causing abnormal conduction of electrical signals within the heart. This can easily lead to reentry circuits, inducing tachycardia. This may cause symptoms such as palpitations and chest tightness. In severe cases, it can impair cardiac blood supply and even endanger life.
3. Myocardial Ischemia
During frequent premature contractions, the coordination of cardiac contraction and relaxation is disrupted, affecting coronary artery blood supply. During systole, the myocardium mainly relies on collateral circulation from the coronary arteries for blood supply. Frequent premature contractions may cause earlier or prolonged myocardial contraction, leading to abnormal timing of coronary blood supply and resulting in myocardial ischemia. This can cause symptoms such as angina pectoris and may lead to myocardial damage over time.
4. Development of Heart Failure
Persistent frequent premature contractions keep the myocardium in an abnormal state of contraction and relaxation for prolonged periods. This increases the workload on myocardial cells, gradually altering myocardial structure and function, and weakening myocardial contractility. As the condition progresses, the heart can no longer effectively pump blood, leading to chamber enlargement and eventual development of heart failure, with symptoms such as dyspnea and edema.
5. Increased Risk of Thrombosis
Frequent premature contractions cause abnormal blood flow within the heart, slowing blood flow or causing vortices, which can easily lead to aggregation of components such as platelets, forming blood clots. Thrombosis is especially likely to occur in areas such as the left atrial appendage. Once a clot dislodges, it can travel through the bloodstream to various parts of the body, causing serious complications such as pulmonary embolism and cerebral embolism.
In daily life, it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, follow a regular sleep schedule, avoid staying up late, and ensure adequate sleep; maintain a balanced diet, reduce intake of stimulants such as coffee, strong tea, and alcohol, and consume more fresh vegetables and fruits to maintain nutritional balance; engage in moderate exercise, such as walking, jogging, or yoga, but avoid strenuous exercise and excessive fatigue.
