title: Interpolated premature ventricular contractions with postponed compensatory pauses: a misnomer?
abstract: Selected strips of a Holter recording obtained from a healthy young person with rare unifocal premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) were obtained. Occasionally, the PVCs were interpolated and showed the phenomenon originally named postponed compensatory pause by Langendorf [Am Heart J 1953;46:401]. But this is a misnomer because, by definition, interpolated PVCs do not have compensatory pauses. Thus, it follows that what does not exist cannot be postponed. In reality, the basic manifest feature is a prolongation of the first RR interval that follows the interpolated beat. However, in view of its use for more than half a century, it is probably best to continue using this terminology, but only as long as its underlying mechanism and fundamental manifestations are properly understood.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, PO Box 016960 (D-39), Miami, FL 33101, USA. acastell@med.miami.edu
authors.forename: Agustin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Castellanos
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Brenes
authors.forename: Julio A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Chirinos-Medina
authors.forename: Freddy
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: del Carpio
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D018879:Ventricular Premature Complexes / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis*