Ventricular ectopic activity in chronic ischaemic heart disease.
Ventricular ectopic activity in 116 consecutive postmyocardial infarction patients was studied. The study extended over a period of 5 years and 700 periodic 6-7-hour Holter tape recordings were perfomred. A classification of ectopic activity is presented and it is suggested that patients be classified into group I with few, i.e. less than 8, and group II with multiple, i.e. 8 or more, ectopic beats per hour. It was found that the frequency of ventricular ectopic activity tends to remain constant over prolonged periods of time, and that repetitive firing as well as multiformity are functions of the absolute number of ventricular ectopic beats (VEB) present. A 6-7-hour sample of ventricular ectopic activity gives only marginally more information than a 1-hour recording, and the presence of VEB on a resting ECG correlates well with a frequency of more than 8 VEB per hour (group II) on extended monitoring.
D000328:Adult; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003645:Death, Sudden; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications*