extrasystole

plural extrasystoles

1. medicineA premature contraction of the heart, producing an interruption or irregularity in heartbeat rhythm, associated with heart disease or the use of some pharmaceuticals.

   An extrasystole originating at the rhythmic centre is thus followed by a returning cycle of natural length.

   1914, Thomas Lewis et al., “The Excitatory Process in the Dog's Heart,”, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, containing Papers of a Biological Character, volume 205, page 404

   1 more example

   A 30-year-old woman, with no heart disease, was referred to our center with a history of rare episodes of sustained tachycardia and frequent feeling of extrasystoles.

   2005, Gian-Battista Chierchia MD et al., “Arrhythmia Rounds: A Case of Junctional Extrasystoles?”, in Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology, volume 16, number 5, page 557

   Synonyms: premature ventricular contraction, ventricular premature beat