Ventricular Premature Beats Causes & Risks

Causes

The causes of PVBs include:

• Physical or emotional stress
• Physical exercise
• Caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (eg, cocaine, amphetamines)
• Certain medications, especially those that stimulate the heart
• Heart disease:
  • Heart attack
  • Coronary artery disease
  • Disorders that cause the ventricles to get larger (eg, heart failure )
  • Heart valve disorders
  • Congenital heart disease

Risk Factors

A risk factor is something that increases your chance of getting a disease or condition.

The following factors increase your chance of developing PVBs:

• Age: frequency increases with age, PVBs are most common in the elderly
• Sex: more common in men than women
• Race: African Americans have a much higher risk than Caucasian
• Heart disease
• Use of caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs