Premature atrial contraction
Premature atrial contraction
Classification & external resources
| ICD-10 |
I49.1 |
| ICD-9 |
427.61 |
| MeSH |
D018880 |
Premature atrial contractions (PACs) are a type of premature heart beat, irregular heart beat or benign arrhythmia which start in the upper two chambers of the heart, also called atria. These aren't as serious as a Premature Ventricular Contraction and usually require no medical care. Individuals with the condition may report feeling that his or her heart "stops" after a symptom. PVCs are also called heart palpitations (although there are many other forms of arrhythmia).
In many cases doctors are unable to determine a cause. Some cells in the heart (ectopic foci) start to fire or go off before the normal heart beat is supposed to occur in the SA node. These can be cells that are damaged or sick from a virus, or from some other cause that a doctor can't determine, many times, doctors don't know why they happen. Sometimes people who have them feel a skipped beat or a thump in their chest or neck. In many cases, the person feels nothing.
Usually a doctor will do or order an EKG, Holter, or Cardiac Event Monitor for the person to wear. Without an EKG, it is impossible to determine the existence of PACs or whether they aren't a PAC at all. Once proven, the person may be referred to a cardiologist for further testing to determine whether the heart is damaged or deteriorated. In the case that it isn't, sometimes simple lifestyle changes can alter and/or prevent the occurances of PAC's. Exercising, eating right, and lowering stress levels are the most effective ways of reducing the occurences.
In rare cases, a PAC can, like a PVC, trigger a more serious arrhythmia such as Atrial flutter or fibrillation. This is seldom seen in a healthy heart, but in a case that it does happen, medical attention should be sought to see what might have caused the problem and what steps can be taken to fix it. Unlike PVC's, PAC's generally do not compromise the hemodynamic system because the conduction throughout the AV node, and the ventricles of the heart are activated in a normal sequence. a PAC usually will also on the EKG be characterized by: - a normal QRS complex - a normal T wave repolarization (not inverted to the other T waves) - an odd, mis-shapen P wave depolarization
See also
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Circulatory system pathology (I, 390-459) |
| Hypertension |
Hypertensive heart disease - Hypertensive nephropathy - Secondary hypertension (Renovascular hypertension) |
| Ischaemic heart disease |
Angina pectoris (Prinzmetal's angina) - Myocardial infarction - Dressler's syndrome |
| Pulmonary circulation |
Pulmonary embolism - Cor pulmonale |
| Pericardium |
Pericarditis - Pericardial effusion - Cardiac tamponade |
| Endocardium/heart valves |
Endocarditis - mitral valves (regurgitation, prolapse, stenosis) - aortic valves (stenosis, insufficiency) - pulmonary valves (stenosis, insufficiency) - tricuspid valves (stenosis, insufficiency) |
| Myocardium |
Myocarditis - Cardiomyopathy (Dilated cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, Loeffler endocarditis, Restrictive cardiomyopathy) - Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia |
Electrical conduction system
of the heart |
Heart block: AV block (First degree, Second degree, Third degree) - Bundle branch block (Left, Right) - Bifascicular block - Trifascicular block
Pre-excitation syndrome (Wolff-Parkinson-White, Lown-Ganong-Levine) - Long QT syndrome - Adams-Stokes syndrome - Cardiac arrest - Sudden cardiac death
Arrhythmia: Paroxysmal tachycardia (Supraventricular, AV nodal reentrant, Ventricular) - Atrial flutter - Atrial fibrillation - Ventricular fibrillation - Premature contraction (Atrial, Ventricular) - Ectopic pacemaker - Sick sinus syndrome |
| Other heart conditions |
Heart failure - Cardiovascular disease - Cardiomegaly - Ventricular hypertrophy (Left, Right) |
| Cerebrovascular diseases |
Intracranial hemorrhage/cerebral hemorrhage: Extra-axial hemorrhage (Epidural hemorrhage, Subdural hemorrhage, Subarachnoid hemorrhage)
Intra-axial hematoma (Intraventricular hemorrhages, Intraparenchymal hemorrhage) - Anterior spinal artery syndrome - Binswanger's disease - Moyamoya disease |
Arteries, arterioles
and capillaries |
Atherosclerosis (Renal artery stenosis) - Aortic dissection/Aortic aneurysm (Abdominal aortic aneurysm) - Aneurysm - Raynaud's phenomenon/Raynaud's disease - Buerger's disease - Vasculitis/Arteritis (Aortitis) - Intermittent claudication - Arteriovenous fistula - Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia - Spider angioma |
Veins, lymphatic vessels
and lymph nodes |
Thrombosis/Phlebitis/Thrombophlebitis (Deep vein thrombosis, May-Thurner syndrome, Portal vein thrombosis, Venous thrombosis, Budd-Chiari syndrome, Renal vein thrombosis, Paget-Schroetter disease) - Varicose veins / Portacaval anastomosis (Hemorrhoid, Esophageal varices, Varicocele, Gastric varices, Caput medusae) - Superior vena cava syndrome - Lymph (Lymphadenitis, Lymphedema, Lymphangitis) |
| Other |
Hypotension (Orthostatic hypotension) |
| See also congenital (Q20-Q28, 745-747) |
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