Premature atrial contraction causes

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Mugilan Poongkunran M.B.B.S [2]

Overview

Premature atrial contractions occur frequently in subjects with normal heart; however, patients with structural heart disease and coronary heart disease are at increased risk. Alcohol and coffee are considered potential precipitants of PACs. PAC’s may also be more common in other medical conditions such as chronic renal failure and chronic pulmonary disease.

Causes

Life Threatening Causes

Life-threatening causes include conditions which may result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.

Common Causes

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	Congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, holiday heart syndrome, hypertensive heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, mitral regurgitation, mitral stenosis, mitral valve prolapse, myocardial infarction, myocarditis, valvular heart disease, ischemic heart disease
Chemical / poisoning	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	No underlying causes
Drug Side Effect	Alpha interferon, aminophylline, amiodarone, amlodipine, amphetamines, cocaine, digoxin, diltiazem, dobutamine, ephedrine, 5-fluorouracil, isoproterenol, phenylephrine, salbutamol, sympathomimetic agents, tacrolimus, theophylline, thiazides, verapamil
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	Cushing’s syndrome, diabetic ketoacidosis, metabolic syndrome, subclinical hyperthyroidism, thyrotoxicosis
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	No underlying causes
Genetic	No underlying causes
Hematologic	No underlying causes
Iatrogenic	Acute cardiac allograft rejection, cardiac stress test, cardiac transplantation, cardioversion, pacemaker malfunction, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts
Infectious Disease	Fever, myocarditis
Musculoskeletal / Ortho	No underlying causes
Neurologic	Subarachnoid hemorrhage
Nutritional / Metabolic	Dehydration, electrolyte disturbance, hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia
Obstetric/Gynecologic	New born
Oncologic	No underlying causes
Opthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose / Toxicity	Amphetamines, cocaine, digoxin, cannabis
Psychiatric	Anxiety disorders, bulimia nervosa, stress, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy
Pulmonary	Chronic lung disease, COPD, hypoxia, pulmonary embolism, hypercapnia, respiratory acidosis, pneumonia, pulmonary hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea
Renal / Electrolyte	Chronic renal failure
Rheum / Immune / Allergy	Acute cardiac allograft rejection
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	No underlying causes
Urologic	No underlying causes
Dental	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Alcoholism, caffeine, chocolate, heavy exercise, fatigue, idiopathic

Causes in Alphabetical Order

References

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