What Are the Symptoms of an Extra Heart Beat?
Depending on the frequency and severity of an extra heart beat occurrence, the symptoms can range from no noticeable signs to palpitation or feeling faint. An early extra heart beat that begins in the ventricles is called a premature ventricular contraction (PVC), and it is a type of heart arrhythmia. When it is mild and occurs infrequently, it may not cause any apparent symptoms in some people, notes MedicineNet.
Premature ventricular contractions can also cause heart palpitation, and the sensation that the heart stops for a short time and then resumes its normal heartbeat. This can be due to the typical pattern associated with a PVC, which is a regular heartbeat, an extra beat, and a brief stop followed by a stronger regular beat, as noted by Cleveland Clinic.
Some other symptoms associated with PVC can be the sensation of a heart that flutters, pounds or misses a beat, notes Mayo Clinic. However, a premature ventricular contraction is a very common type of arrhythmia and patients who experience them infrequently may not require any treatment.
When there are frequent premature ventricular contractions, there may also be symptoms, such as overall weakness and fainting in rare cases. This occurs because this condition can diminish the heart’s capacity to furnish sufficient blood flow to different body organs, states MedicineNet. When PVCs occur more frequently, they may be due to an underlying heart condition. In these cases, medications may be necessary to treat severe arrhythmia caused by PVCs.
