Premature atrial contraction Premature atrial contraction Premature atrial contractions (PACs), also known as atrial premature complexes (APC) or atrial premature beats (APB), are a common cardiac dysrhythmia characterized by premature heartbeats originating in the atria. While the sinoatrial node typically regulates the heartbeat during normal sinus rhythm, PACs occur when another region of the atria depolarizes before the sinoatrial node and thus triggers a premature heartbeat. The exact cause of PACs is unclear; while several predisposing conditions exist, PACs commonly occur in healthy young and elderly people. Elderly people that get PACs usually don't need any further attention besides follow ups due to
Heart development before the fusion of the endocardial tubes. The heartbeat begins in the region of the pacemaker which has a spontaneous depolarization time faster than the rest of myocardium. The primitive ventricle acts as initial pacemaker. But this pacemaker activity is actually made by a group of cells that derive from the sinoatrial right venous sinus. These cells form an ovoid sinoatrial node (SAN), on the left venous valve. After the development of the SAN, the superior endocardial cushions begin to form a pacemaker as known as the atrioventricular node. With the development of the SAN, a band of specialized conducting