Can a healthy teenager have premature ventricular contractions?

  Arrhythmias in adolescents are not uncommon, with episodes of ventricular prematureness being common and some patients having an organic disease basis for their onset. Some patients have an organic disease basis, such as myocarditis, rheumatic heart disease, etc. Ventricular premature beats can also occur in some healthy adolescents, which should be taken seriously enough to avoid misdiagnosis and financial and psychological burden to the patient’s family.  The majority of premature ventricular contractions in healthy adolescents are related to autonomic disorders, except for 10%-20% which are idiopathic and have no obvious cause. Experiments have shown that when sympathetic excitation and stress are present, plasma theophylline concentration increases and ventricular fibrillation decreases, thus inducing premature ventricular contractions. When the vagus nerve is excited, ventricular premature contractions can also be induced due to slowed heart rate, delayed conduction, and increased ectopic beats. Therefore, premature ventricular contractions in adolescents with the following characteristics should be considered to be caused by autonomic nerves: 1. no positive signs and normal cardiac function indicators; 2. normal QRS time frame on ECG and no abnormal changes in ST-T segment; 3. effective treatment with benzoin or atropine; 4. no development or disappearance of the disease on its own during long-term follow-up.  The causes of autonomic dysfunction in adolescents are mainly related to neuropsychological factors. Stress, anxiety, fear, shock, as well as fever, improper use of drugs can cause autonomic disorders. Therefore, after the premature ventricular contractions in adolescents without organic heart disease are clearly identified, the principle of treatment is to eliminate the factors that induce autonomic disorders, and the use of antiarrhythmic drugs is generally not necessary.  As long as observation and follow-up are paid attention to, most of the premature beats can disappear on their own with the elimination of the causative factors, and the prognosis is good. If ventricular premature beats are frequent (>6 beats/min, or >3000 beats in 24 hours), a small dose of oral solution can be given for 5-7 days as a course of treatment. When the neurological disorder is serious, sedatives can also be taken, preferred to Shule valium (eszopiclone), 1 tablet daily at bedtime, generally taken orally for about 2 weeks to gradually stop the drug.