What is premature atrial contractions and is it serious?
Question:
Answers:
I should preface this (as I do in all of my medical entries) by saying I'm not a doctor yet, so anything I say here is purely subjective (so I don't get my *** sued off for some cockamamie reason)
That said:
No it's not serious. What is it...well, it's a little like a sparkplug that fires before the gas is in the chamber. I'm actually surprised your physician didn't explain it to you when you were in the room, but all the same, it's not the first time I've read where someone didn't get a condition explained to them...
Normal sinus rhythm (as you probably know) is the good ol' "lub-dub" right? A Premature Atrial Contraction aka PAC aka irregular heartbeat aka premature heartbeat aka arrhythmia is caused when the upper two chambers of the heart fire off before the "lub" of the lower two begins, a little like right before the conductor brings the stick down, the horn section starts playing before everyone else (better than the car analogy, yes?)
But this is where it really twists: We have no idea what really causes it. We have conjectures, and ideas, and theories, but nothing solid that we can point to as being the difinitive cause. It is believed that certain kinds of bacteria or a viral sickness you might have suffered in the past, caused the cells within the atria to become damaged and lose their way in the music, a little like that horn section mentioned above.
Normally, such things go away on their own...the body is such a magical machine, I assure you if you know this is going on cognatively, your body has know about it for a while and is working to fix it. There are cases (I should caution) that in time become much more serious, and I would say that over time it behooves you to keep the little murmer under watch...till then carry around a stethescope and share your cool little trick with your science-driven friends, they will surely get a kick out of it (they are quite interesting to listen to, if you think about it).
I wish you good health, and I submit my answer for review and comment to my higher ups (pgy3 and up, interns, fellows and physicians).
- jmb
Not serious- young healthy people often have a few premature atrial contractions every once in a while. (the first chamber of your heart- the atria- beats just a little bit earlier than it should ) You may feel like your heart jumps or skips- that is ok. A few PAC's here and there do not increase your chances for stroke or blood clots. People who have premature atrial contractions enough to drop the blood pressure would be at increased risk- but you would know if you were having that many, as you would be symptomatic, and your doctor would never have let you leave the building. I wouldn't worry about it, but I have to say, your doctor should have explained this to you, and answered your questions. You should ask for an explanation from him/her.
Premature atrial contractions (PACs) are a type of premature heart beat or irregular heart beat or arrhythmia which start in the upper two chambers of the heart, also called atria. These aren't serious, and they frequently go away on their own.
If you've felt your heart "skip a beat," it was probably from this type of arrhythmia. In reality, the heart doesn't skip a beat. Instead an extra beat comes sooner than normal.
Premature beats are very common in normal children and teenagers — most people have them at some time. Usually no cause can be found and no special treatment is needed.
OCCASIONALLY OR RARELY premature beats may be caused by disease or injury to the heart. Your doctor will monitor you I am sure and will answer your questions. Ask him/her and make them explain to you and share you concerns with him/her.
I have PAC's from time to time so I know they can be aggravating and a little scary.
Best wishes to you.
Click these links if you would like to read more info:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-a...
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.j...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/premature_a...
http://www.webmd.com/search/search_resul...
More Questions & Answers...