AUTHOR=Lee Po-Tseng , Huang Ting-Chun , Huang Mu-Hsiang , Hsu Ling-Wei , Su Pei-Fang , Liu Yen-Wen , Hung Meng-Hsuan , Liu Ping-Yen 

TITLE=The Burden of Ventricular Premature Complex Is Associated With Cardiovascular Mortality

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2021.797976

DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2021.797976

ISSN=2297-055X

ABSTRACT=Background: Ventricular premature complex (VPC) is one of the most common ventricular arrhythmias. Presence of VPC is associated with an increased risk of heart failure. 
Method: We designed a single-center, retrospective, and large population-based cohort to clarify the role of VPC burden in long-term prognosis in Taiwan. We analyzed the database from the National Cheng Kung University Hospital-Electronic Medical Record (NCKUH-EMR) and Holter (NCKUH-Holter). A total of 19527 patients who underwent 24-hour Holter electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring due to palpitation, syncope, and clinical suspicion of arrhythmias were enrolled in the study. 
Results: Clinical outcome of interests involved 5.65% non-cardiovascular death and 1.53% cardiovascular-specific deaths between 2011 to 2018. Cox regression analysis, Fine and Gray’s competing risk model and propensity score matching demonstrated that both moderate (1000 – 10000/day) and high (> 10000/day) VPC burden contributed to cardiovascular death in comparison with low VPC burden (< 1000/day).
Conclusion: A higher VPC burden via Holter ECG is an independent risk factor of cardiovascular mortality.