Author:- Mr. Ritesh Sharma
In an ideal scenario, a human heart functions properly. The upper part (atria) pushes blood to the lower part (ventricles), and it is pumped throughout the body to perform various functions. This symphony between the atria and the ventricles forms the core of human life. However, many times, this symphony is disrupted, and the concept of Ventricular Trigeminy comes into play.
The regular heart rhythm is defined by the functions of atria and ventricles. The function of these two parts of the heart is to maintain a seamless rhythmic pattern of the heart. However, this rhythmic pattern is often disturbed due to premature contractions originating in the ventricles. Due to this, an extra heartbeat starts in the lower ventricle, causing chaos in the heart’s rhythm. These premature contractions are known as Premature Ventricular Contractions (PVC).
In medical terms, PVC happening in a pattern of three heartbeats is called ventricular trigeminy (a type of arrhythmia) which causes conditions like fluttering in your chest or a feeling like you missed a heartbeat. In the realm of heart health, ventricular trigeminy is a fascinating subject to study that holds a lot of intricacies. Let’s discuss this fascinating subject in all of its complexities below.
Ventricular Trigeminy and its Significance in Heart Health
In a nutshell, ventricular trigeminy is a cardiac rhythm irregularity showcasing abnormal ecg. Before delving deeper into the subject of ventricular trigeminy, let us try to understand the heart rhythm. The heart rhythm is dictated by the sinoatrial node (SA), known as the heart’s natural pacemaker. Now, the SA node determines the normal heart rhythm, in accordance with which, the conduction of the heart works. However, due to the occurrence of PVC, every third heartbeat becomes a disruption to the normal heart rhythm, which is basically ventricular trigeminy.
Its significance cannot be gauged by its literal definition because ventricular trigeminy doesn’t pose any direct risk to the human body if we look at it from the surface. Despite this, its presence indicates many underlying cardiovascular risks, such as other threatening arrhythmias. To understand its significance in all of its intricacies, we must first discuss Premature Ventricular Contraction (PVC) thoroughly.
How Ventricular Trigeminy Occurs
Before discussing PVC and eventually moving to the occurrence of ventricular trigeminy, let us try to understand the normal heart rhythm. The normal heart rhythm is also termed normal sinus rhythm which illustrates normal ecg pattern. It is a pattern of electrical impulses (regular and coordinated) that initiate the heartbeat and then regulate it in a fixed rhythm. This heart rhythm is disturbed by an extra heartbeat originating in the heart’s ventricle.
This extra heartbeat is called Premature Ventricular Contraction. Due to PVC, the heart rhythm (NSR) gets perplexed and irregularities arise. These irregularities occurring in the pattern of three heartbeats are called ventricular trigeminy. While, for some individuals, these irregularities are noticeable, for others, there is no hint of these irregularities occurring in the heart.
The ventricular trigeminy follows the following two patterns:-
- One extra heartbeat occurs after two normal heartbeats due to Premature Ventricular Contraction.
- Two extra heartbeats occur after one normal heartbeat due to PVC.
Ventricular Trigeminy always occurs in the pattern of three heartbeats in accordance with the above-mentioned pattern. Apart from this, many times, it is a difficult condition to comprehend or identify for humans.
Identifying Ventricular Trigeminy
While identifying ventricular trigeminy might not be as easy as other arrhythmias, there are some striking symptoms that indicate its occurrence in your heart:-
- Ventricular Trigeminy might cause heart palpitations occasionally.
- The individual facing it might experience the sensation of fluttering in the chest.
- Mild chest pain might occur due to ventricular trigeminy.
Although these mild symptoms can indicate that your heart rhythm has been disrupted, the confirmation of the medical condition can only be done by some diagnostic tools and tests. The most common test to identify ventricular trigeminy is electrocardiogram. ECG is effective in determining the heart’s electrical activity and subsequently identifying the cardiac rhythm irregularity.
Apart from ECG, Holter monitoring, stress testing, and echocardiography are capable of deducing the occurrence of ventricular trigeminy in the heart rhythm. These tests give you insights into the frequency, pattern, and potential triggers of PVCs which eventually result in ventricular trigeminy.
Causes and Risk Factors
Many causes and risk factors contribute to the occurrence of ventricular trigeminy and trigger it. We will discuss all of these causes and risk factors below:-
- Underlying Cardiac Conditions:
Ventricular trigeminy gives birth to many underlying cardiac conditions, such as life-threatening arrhythmia, coronary artery diseases (CADs), and structural heart abnormalities. These conditions stem from PVCs which are further worsened by poor lifestyle. These underlying Cardiac Conditions indicate the significance of ventricular trigeminy and alarm us that we should not take it lightly.
- Lifestyle factors contributing to ventricular trigeminy:
Many lifestyle factors contribute to ventricular trigeminy, directly and indirectly. The following is a list of all those lifestyle factors:-
- Excessive consumption of caffeine and tobacco contributes to PVCs which is the reason for the occurrence of ventricular trigeminy.
- Taking medicines to treat congestion and allergies can also trigger PVCs.
- Consumption of alcohol and cocaine is another trigger for PVCs.
- If you go overboard with the exercise, Premature Ventricular Contraction is more likely to occur.
Impact on Heart Health
Ventricular Trigeminy doesn’t pose any direct risk to heart health. However, it does have some implications for some cardiovascular conditions. The risk posed to heart health by this medical condition highly depends on the frequency and duration of the PVCs which is causing it. The following are the potential risks to heart health posed by ventricular trigeminy:-
- As we already know, ventricular trigeminy’s association is with the third heartbeat of the PVC pattern; therefore, due to this constant disruption in the normal heart rhythm, it is not able to pump blood properly throughout the body. Consequently, the body’s tissues don’t get an adequate amount of oxygen and nutrients.
- Due to the prevalence of constant PVCs, there is a risk of severe arrhythmias that can cause serious damage to the heart.
- Because of symptoms like heart palpitations and fluttering, individuals can develop stress and anxiety which can worsen their heart rate variability.
- Based on an individual’s ability to tolerate irregular heart rhythms, ventricular trigeminy can have a significant negative impact on heart health.
Prevention of Ventricular Trigeminy
It is not practically possible to completely prevent ventricular trigeminy as it occurs naturally due to PVCs in the heart. However, certain risk-reduction strategies can minimize its negative effects and ensure the ideal state of your cardiovascular health.
- Monitor your heart health regularly. For this, you can even perform ECG using portable ECG devices when needed.
- Make some alterations to your lifestyle, take a highly nutritious diet, engage in physical activities, and reduce the consumption of alcohol and tobacco.
- Manage stress by performing activities like meditation and yoga.
- As electrolyte imbalance can cause ventricular trigeminy and other types of arrhythmias, you must stay hydrated to maintain the balance of electrolytes.
- For further prevention from electrolytes, consume potassium-rich foods like bananas, oranges, and leafy green vegetables.
- Maintain a healthy weight to steer clear of regular PVCs in the heart.
- Review the medications you are taking and ensure that they don’t pose any risk to the heart.
- Take care of other underlying medical conditions, such as CADs and hypertension to reduce the risk of ventricular trigeminy.
- Sleep disorders such as sleep apnea can potentially cause irregular heartbeats, so take adequate sleep regularly.
- Caffeine and various stimulants can trigger PVCs, so reduce their intake.
Ventricular Trigeminy is a highly plausible arrhythmia that can occur in any individual due to a disturbance in the heart rhythm. Hence, you can easily be affected by it, and you must not fret. However, the underlying cardiovascular conditions it causes can be a threat to you. Therefore, you must adopt a healthy lifestyle, regularly monitor your heart health with tests such as an ECG, and maintain the immaculate state of your cardiovascular health.