Mr. Liu from Baoding: I am 31 years old and recently I often feel panic and chest tightness. I went to take a pulse test a few days ago and the result showed an abnormal heart rate of 7 beats per minute. I heard from a friend that this is a symptom of premature heartbeat, how should I treat it? Hu Xitian, deputy director of the Heart Department of Shijiazhuang First Hospital: The interval between normal heartbeats is basically equal, but if there is a sudden advance in heartbeat, it is medically known as premature beat (premature beat), or extra-period contraction, which can occur when taking a pulse or “missed beat”. Premature beats are a common heart rhythm disorder and are also common in normal people, most of whom have no symptoms. However, frequent premature beats can cause palpitations, chest tightness, and fatigue. Frequent premature beats in the presence of a more serious heart condition may even cause angina pectoris or heart failure. According to the frequency of premature beats, those that occur more than 6 times per minute are called frequent premature beats, and those that occur less than 6 times are called episodic premature beats. Episodic premature beats have little effect on blood circulation and do not affect ventricular blood displacement. As long as the causes of premature beats are removed, premature beats can be gradually eliminated without treatment or stopping work. For premature beats caused by disease, the disease that induces premature beats should be cured first. In case of frequent premature beats, especially those that may develop into serious heart rhythm disorders based on heart disease or may lead to angina pectoris and heart failure, attention should be paid to treatment. The treatment should be patient and should not be changed frequently. After the premature beats are controlled, it is still necessary to maintain them with a small amount of medication to avoid recurrence of the disease. For patients with frequent premature beats and obvious symptoms, the cause should be promptly identified and actively treated, especially for multi-source premature beats, which should be controlled with anti-arrhythmic drugs. Frequent or multi-source atrial or ventricular premature beats in patients with organic heart disease may develop into atrial tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation if not treated in time, which may be life-threatening in severe cases.