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Effect of Premature Ventricular Contractions on Middle Cerebral Artery Blood Flow Velocity
Author(s) -
Ameriso Sebastian F.,
Fisher Mark,
Sager Philip
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of neuroimaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1552-6569
pISSN - 1051-2284
DOI - 10.1111/jon199113129
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiology , middle cerebral artery , beat (acoustics) , diastole , blood flow , bigeminy , transcranial doppler , sinus rhythm , premature atrial contraction , cerebral blood flow , rhythm , anesthesia , cerebral arteries , blood pressure , ischemia , atrial fibrillation , ventricular tachycardia , physics , acoustics
The effect of premature ventricular contractions on blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery was studied by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography in 1 0 patients. Velocity during three ectopic beats for each patient was lower than that during the preceding and the following beat in every recording. The decrease in peak velocity was 30.7 ± 12.4% and 37.1 ± 13.3% (mean ± standard deviation) compared to the preceding and following beat, respectively. This variation was significantly larger (p < 0.0001) than the spontaneous change observed during sinus rhythm, 2. 7 ± 2.2% in patients with premature ventricular contractions and 3.5 ± 3.2% in control subjects. Similar results were obtained for both mean and diastolic blood flow velocities. Systolic‐diastolic ratios were similar for premature ventricular contractions, beats preceding or following premature ventricular contractions, and sinus rhythm beats. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound appears to be an excellent technique for analyzing the effects of cardiac arrhythmias on the cerebral circulation.