The clinical study on the ventricular premature beats. was made on 358 cases diagnosed by surface electrocardiographic examination during the period of June 1972 to December 1975.
The results were summarized as follows:
1. Ventricular premature beats ere observed in 358 cases among the 9,000 patients subjected to electrocardiographic examination, accounting for 3.98% of total subjects.
2. There was no significant sexual difference, in the incidence of ventricular premature beats, while it was higher in the older age groups most frequently being over the 7th decade in both sexes.
3. In the cardiovascular group the incidence of ventricular premature beats was 6.79%, whereas the incidences in the noncardiovascular and apparently healthy groups were 2.51% and 1.93% respectively.
4. In the cardiovascular group, rheumatic valvular heart disease (19. 05%) exceeded all others in frequency. Ischemic coronary heart disease(8.58%) ranked second, and other diseases such as corpulmonale (7.14%) and hypertensive heart disease (5.30%) were of decreasing order of frequency.
5. In the noncardiovascular group, acute drug intoxication (3.66%), central nervous system diseases (3.30%) and infectious diseases (3.03%) were observed in that order of frequency.
6. Atrial fibrillation was one of the most frequent arrhythmias associated with ventricular premature beats, being 46 cases (12.85%). Second most associating arrhythmia was bundle branch block with or without hemiblock or trifascicular block, being 33 cases (9.22%).
7. The dominant QRS axes in the tracings with ventricular premature beats were distributed to .more frequently abnormal axes deviation in the cardiovascular group (35%) than the noncardiovascular and apparently healthy groups (19%).
8. The frequency of ventricular premature beats in a trace of 60 seconds duration was distinctly more in the cardiovascular group compared to the noncardiovascular and apparently healthy group.
9. Multifocal and unifocal multiform ventricular premature, beats were observed more frequently in the cardiovascular group than the noncardiovascular and apparently healthy groups.
10. Ventricular premature beats were analyzed regarding to the interval between the end of T wave of preceding sinus beat and the onset of ventricular premature beat. The tendency was observed that the ventricular premature beats developed during the vulnerable period and in the vicinity of T waves of preceding sinus beats more frequently in the cardiovascular group compared to the noncardiovascular and apparently healthy groups.
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