What are the types of ventricular arrhythmias?

What are the types of ventricular arrhythmias?

A ventricular arrhythmia begins in the heart’s ventricles. Types of ventricular arrhythmias include:

• Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs): Early, extra heartbeats that start out in the ventricles. Most of the time, PVCs don’t cause any symptoms or require treatment. This type of arrhythmia is common and can be related to stress, too much caffeine or nicotine, or exercise. They can be also be caused by heart disease or electrolyte imbalance. People who have several PVCs and/or symptoms associated with them should be evaluated by a cardiologist (heart doctor).
• Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach): A rapid heartbeat that begins in the ventricles. The rapid rhythm keeps the heart from adequately filling with blood, and less blood is able to pump through the body. V-tach can be serious, especially in people with heart disease, and may be associated with more symptoms than other types of arrhythmia. A cardiologist should evaluate this condition.
• Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib): An erratic, disorganized firing of impulses from the ventricles. The ventricles quiver and can’t generate an effective contraction, which results in a lack of blood being delivered to your body. This is a medical emergency that must be treated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation (delivery of an energy shock to your heart muscle to restore a normal rhythm) as soon as possible.
• Long QT: While this is not an arrhythmia, it can predispose someone to have one. The QT interval is the area on the ECG that represents the time it takes for the heart muscle to contract and then recover, or for the electrical impulse to fire and then recharge. When the QT interval is longer than normal, it increases the risk for “torsade de pointes,” a life-threatening form of ventricular tachycardia.