Premature ventricular complexes can quickly progress to which life-threatening rhythm?

• A. Ventricular Fibrillation
• B. Atrial Fibrillation
• C. Sinus Tachycardia
• D. Normal Sinus Rhythm

Answer: (A)

Premature ventricular complexes are ventricular ectopic beats. When they occur frequently or in a destabilizing pattern (such as a burst of PVCs or a PVC landing on the preceding T wave, known as the R-on-T phenomenon), they can trigger rapidly progressive ventricular tachycardia and then degenerate into ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation is a chaotic, uncoordinated rhythm with no effective cardiac output, making it life-threatening if not treated immediately.

Atrial fibrillation is an atrial rhythm and does not arise directly from PVCs progressing into a dangerous ventricular rhythm. Sinus tachycardia is a fast but organized rhythm from the sinus node, not a malignancy that PVCs typically progress into. Normal sinus rhythm simply indicates a normal, healthy rhythm rather than a dangerous progression from ectopy.