What are the grades of ventricular premature beats?

Among our normal population, some people suffer from ventricular premature beats. If you experience these symptoms: ventricular irregular contraction, palpitations, cough, nausea, sometimes accompanied by dizziness, chest tightness, etc., then you may be suffering from ventricular premature beats. I heard that if this disease is not taken seriously, it can be life-threatening. Next, let’s take a look at the grading of ventricular premature beats to treat our disease in a targeted manner.

Risk classification of ventricular premature beats: General ventricular premature beats are certainly not life-threatening, so there is no need to worry too much. But sometimes frequent ventricular premature beats, especially when the R wave of the premature beat falls on the T wave of the previous beat, that is, RonT, may cause ventricular tachycardia and even develop into ventricular fibrillation, which is life-threatening. Lown's classified ventricular premature beats into several levels. The higher the level, the greater the risk of sudden death. This has certain reference value, especially for patients with acute myocardial infarction.

The American Lown classification is as follows:

Grade 0: No ventricular premature beats. 

Grade I: Ventricular premature beats <30 times/hour. 

Grade II: Ventricular premature beats > 30 times/hour. 

Grade III: Polymorphic ventricular premature beats. 

Grade IVa: Paired (coupled) premature beats. 

Grade IVb: ventricular tachycardia. 

Grade V: Ventricular premature beats with the R wave falling on the T wave (RonT). 

Recently, many studies have found that the number of ventricular premature beats increases with age. Currently, most experts believe that Lown's classification is only suitable for ventricular arrhythmias occurring in patients with myocardial infarction. This is mainly because RonT ventricular premature beats can often be detected in some healthy people, but there is no case of ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. The RonT phenomenon can appear in the electrocardiogram of patients with pacemakers, but has not been found to trigger ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation.

At present, more and more studies have shown that the risk of ventricular premature beats is mainly based on the following points:

(1) Underlying heart disease, such as severe myocardial infarction, severe ischemia, myocarditis or ventricular aneurysm;

(2) cardiac function status;

(3) Whether there is electrolyte disorder. Ventricular premature beats in patients with good heart function and no organic heart disease are generally benign arrhythmias. Patients with severe organic heart disease and significantly impaired heart function, such as premature ventricular contractions ≥ Grade III, are considered to have high-risk arrhythmias that may cause sudden death.

The above is the knowledge about ventricular premature beats grading that we introduced according to the patient's request. It is to remind everyone to pay attention to this disease in daily life and also pay attention to care in daily life. For example: maintain a good attitude, strengthen physical exercise, do not stay up late, and stay away from tobacco and alcohol. If you find palpitations or heart skipping beats, go to the hospital for examination and treatment in time.