Kristin Williamson, 42, of Fremont, California, didn’t give the few episodes of lightheadedness she experienced last year much thought at first. The elementary school teacher was on the go all day every day, and tending to the needs of young students is by no means stress-free.

But then one morning last November, soon after she woke up, that funny feeling struck again where, as she describes it, you ”feel like you’re out running when you aren’t.” She hit the floor suddenly, blacked out, and broke both a tooth and her nose. Luckily, her husband found her lying there and they quickly went to her doctor, who did an electrocardiogram (EKG) and told her that every third beat of her heart was off, showing extra heart beats.

She found out that she had premature ventricular contractions, or PVCs. These early, extra beats happen when the heart’s lower chambers have an early electrical impulse that makes the ventricles contract too soon. Williamson went to a specialist who performed an ablation procedure, also called radiofrequency catheter ablation. The procedure destroys the area of heart tissue that is causing the out-of-kilter contractions. “I noticed a difference immediately,” Williamson says.  “I went from over half of my beats being PVCs to less than one percent.”

A new research study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that Williamson may have headed off a more serious health problem down the road.  “An increasing frequency of these early beats may predict a higher risk of future heart failure,” says heart rhythm specialist Gregory Marcus, MD, director of clinical research in the division of cardiology at the University of California San Francisco. Funding for the UCSF study came from the NIH and Dr. Marcus reports receiving research support from Gilead Sciences and Medtronic.

For years, doctors have engaged in a chicken-egg debate on the topic: Which comes first, PVCs or the heart disease?

Marcus says he found a link, or association, between PVCs and the future development of heart failure, but he can’t prove the cause and effect. Even so, the information from his new study is still very useful, he says, because treating PVCs when they begin to increase may completely head off these future heart problems.

The Heart Rhythm and Heart Failure Connection

Marcus and his team followed more than 1,100 men and women, all age 65 and older and enrolled in a heart health study, who wore a 24-hour EKG monitor called a Holter monitor. It helps the doctor discover the presence and frequency of PVCs.

Over the follow-up of about 15 years, those who had the most frequent PVCs were more likely to develop congestive heart failure. When this occurs, the heart does not function normally, limiting blood flow and oxygen delivery through the body. Marcus found that half of those who had PVCs that made up from 1.24 to 3.5 percent of total beats went on to develop heart failure. That percent, he says, “would roughly translate to about 1,000 to 4,000 PVCs in 24 hours.”

“We didn’t know that PVCs at that percent would predict at all,” Marcus says about the link to future heart failure. He will continue to study the link. While this does not mean the PVC’s cause heart failure, they could be an early marker of getting the disease in the future.

PVCs and Heart Failure: Second Opinion

“It’s a very common finding to have PVCs,” says Ronald Zolty, MD, PhD, a cardiologist and staff physician for congestive heart failure transplantation at theUniversity of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, who reviewed the study’s findings for Everyday Health. Many times, occasional or infrequent PVCs are dismissed as nothing to worry about, he says.

The unanswered question, Dr. Zolty says, is, “Do people with PVCs go on to get congestive heart failure, or do people with congestive heart failure [have] PVCs?” He said he does not think Marcus has proven that they predict heart failure.

One message is clear: “When patients feel these extra beats, they should get a referral to a cardiologist,” he says. The doctor would order an echocardiogram, as in Williamson’s case, to check the heart structure and function.

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Treatment for PVCs, Congestive Heart Failure

Besides an ablation procedure, doctors can help treat PVCs with medications that work to decrease the likelihood of these premature beats occurring. One type of medication heart specialists prescribe are Beta Blockers, which can decrease heart rate, lower blood pressure, and block the effects of adrenalin on the heart rhythm. Another FDA-approved medication for heart failure is Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan).

Do-It-Yourself Measures to Protect Heart Health

For anyone wanting to reduce the risk of getting congestive heart failure, having a healthy lifestyle can help, Zolty says.

What works?

• Check your blood pressure and keep it at a healthy level (under 120/80 is ideal).
• Eat a healthy diet. Try our free, online meal planner.
• Get regular exercise.