In the last few weeks, the Skeptical Cardiologist has had a run on with patients with premature atrial contractions (PACs). I've discussed in detail premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) here and ...

Do you ever feel like your heart misses a beat? There’s a good chance that what you noticed was a heartbeat that happened sooner than it usually does. When that happens, and then follows up with a ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Knowing the number of hourly premature atrial contractions (PACs) a patient has is as good as the Framingham atrial fibrillation (AF) risk algorithm in predicting five- to 15-year ...

A premature atrial contraction occurs when a focus in the atrium (not the sinoatrial node) generates an action potential before the next scheduled SA node action potential. There are four main ...

MANY common arrhythmias observed in both atria and ventricles are similar although the atrial types have a few important distinguishing features. Thus, so far as therapy is concerned, the atrial ...

Atrial dysfunction, widely considered a marker or consequence of other heart diseases, is a relevant clinical entity, which is why it is justified to define atrial failure or insufficiency as "a new ...

DEAR DR. ROACH: What’s the difference between atrial fibrillation and premature ventricular contractions, aka PVCs (extra heartbeats)? -- M. ANSWER: Both AFib and PVCs are rhythm disturbances of the ...