Try to better understanding PAC's, PVC's, skipped beats

[Hiker in Hawaii]

I think its been mentioned previously that some people have thousands upon thousands of PAC/PVC daily and often times, its NOT dangerous....But isn't 3 PVC's in a row V-Tach, which is generally more serious....I'm just trying to better understand if someone is having hundreds/thousands of PAC/PVC daily, wouldn't you often have 3 in a row...Also, wouldn't there be more profound symptoms if someone is in V-Tach?...Confused

I seem to have alot of skipped beats at night, early in morning, but seem to go away during day and when I'm exercising.....I had normal echo in June 2012, and normal cardiac MRI last Nov, so cannot imagine a structural issue going on....

[abc85]

Technically a run of 3 PVC's in a row can be called VT.  However, this is not likely to be an issue for the individual and not likely to cause any symptoms other than maybe feeling a brief palpitation.  VT can be a little more complicated depending on why somebody is experiencing it, how long the run is, etc.  Some people can be in a sustained VT and be symptom free other than feeling their heart pound.  Others will be unresponsive without a pulse.  Having thousands of PVC's in a day doesn't necessarily mean you have runs of VT.  Also, many may not even know that they are having this many premature beats until it is recorded on a monitor.  Premature beats are incredibly common, with almost everybody experiencing them at some point.  It really comes down to why they are having them as well as other factors.  Things such as stress, stimulants, etc can cause them.  For example, I've had runs of trigeminy and never knew it was going on, but the holter I was wearing picked it up.  I've since noticed times where in it again, just because I happen to be checking my pulse and notice the irregularity.  I have a normal ECHO and these beats aren't considered to be an issue.  If your PVCs seem to only occur at certain times, you could try and figure out what the trigger is.  Maybe since it's around the time when you are in bed, it's related to vagal tone.  PVC's are rarely treated by Dr's and generally only addressed if they are causing significant issues with daily life and activities.

[itdood]

There are a lot of categories of PVCs, and multiple PVCs in a row.  They are categorized by frequency, regularity or lack-thereof, origin, and others I haven't thought of.

It's not as simple as saying I've had 3 PVCs in a row so I have V-TACH.  There's a lot more to it than this.