Arrhythmias & electrophysiology
Premature ventricular complexes and risk of atrial fibrillation and stroke in patients without structural heart disease
Authors' conclusion
In patients with PVCs but without SHD, there was no increased risk of AF or stroke compared with controls from the general population after adjusting for known confounders. However, PVCs were associated with AF in the crude cohort, suggesting that PVCs may be a clinical marker for AF.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with PVCs without structural heart disease (SHD) and without previous atrial fibrillation (AF) or stroke, three hospitals in Stockholm, Sweden
- Participants
- 751 vs 3,041
- Exposure
- PVCs vs matched controls from the general population
- PVCn = 751
- Controlsn = 3,041reference
- Outcome
- AF or stroke
- Follow-up
- Median 5.2 years
Methodological detailsmatched controls (4 per case), inverse probability weighting
- Matched controls (4 per case)
- Inverse probability weighting
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
AF and stroke after inverse probability weighting (IPW)
PVC vs ControlsHazard ratio (95% CI)
AF, after IPW
1.44(0.88–2.37)
Stroke, after IPW
1.32(0.81–2.14)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | HR (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AF, unadjusted analysis | 2.08 (1.35–3.20) | P = 0.0009 | |
| 0.20.5125Hazard ratio (log scale) |
Original publication
Premature ventricular complexes and risk of atrial fibrillation and stroke in patients without structural heart disease. Heart. Published 23 June 2025. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it