Premature Ventricular Complexes

Abstract

APPROXIMATELY every minute in the United States, one person dies of sudden cardiac death. This accounts for more than one half of all deaths due to coronary artery disease, a disease that also commonly displays the syndromes of angina pectoris and acute myocardial infarction. Of the approximately 1.25 million Americans who have an acute myocardial infarction per year, more than one half die before reaching a medical facility, and of those who survive hospitalization, approximately 10% or more will be dead in the first year. Half of this mortality will be caused by sudden cardiac death. Sudden cardiac death is the leading cause of death in the 20- to 64-year-old age range and has the most dramatic social, psychological, and economical impact of any disease, particularly since it occurs prematurely in life, usually without warning or clear precipitating factor. Studies in individuals who have sudden cardiac death while fortuitously wearing