Every other beat is a PVC. What pattern is this?

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Multiple Choice

Every other beat is a PVC. What pattern is this?

Alternating normal beats with a premature ventricular contraction is called bigeminy. You’d see a normal beat, then a PVC, then a normal beat, then a PVC, repeating in a two-beat sequence. The PVCs are typically wide QRS complexes with no preceding P wave, showing they originate in the ventricles. This differs from trigeminy (every third beat is a PVC), ventricular couplets (two PVCs in a row), or atrial bigeminy (an atrial ectopic beat alternating with normal beats, not a ventricular ectopy).

Alternating normal beats with a premature ventricular contraction is called bigeminy. You’d see a normal beat, then a PVC, then a normal beat, then a PVC, repeating in a two-beat sequence. The PVCs are typically wide QRS complexes with no preceding P wave, showing they originate in the ventricles. This differs from trigeminy (every third beat is a PVC), ventricular couplets (two PVCs in a row), or atrial bigeminy (an atrial ectopic beat alternating with normal beats, not a ventricular ectopy).

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