QRS morphology-dependent, concordant frequency distribution of single and repetitive forms of ventricular ectopic...

We tested the relationship between the frequency of single premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) of specific QRS morphologies and repetitive forms (RF) of greater than or equal to 2 PVCs. Fourteen patients with multiform PVCs and RFs underwent 8-hour, two-channel continuous electrocardiographic monitoring. After a 2-hour baseline, procainamide was administered intravenously at 25 mg/min until PVC suppression or 1000 mg. Multiple regression analysis was used to relate the frequencies of repetitive forms initiated by PVCs of the most frequent QRS morphology (M1) and the second most frequent QRS morphology (M2) to the frequency of M1 and M2 single PVCs. Parallel changes in the frequency of M1 RFs and M1 PVCs occurred in 9 of 14 patients and parallel changes in the frequency of M2 RFs and M2 PVCs occurred in 7 of 14 patients (i.e., the relationships were concordant). In two patients, M1 RFs related to M2 PVC frequency; in three patients, M2 RFs related to M1 PVC frequency (i.e., the relationships were discordant). Thus concordant frequency distributions were present in 16 of 28 (57%) comparisons, while a discordant relationship occurred in only 5 of 28 (18%) comparisons (p less than 0.005). In conclusion, there is frequent concordance in the frequency distribution of single multiform PVCs and of RFs initiated by PVCs of the same QRS morphology during a pharmacologic intervention.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)