What is the difference between atrial and ventricular ectopic beats?

There are two types of ectopic beats, those that arise from the upper chambers of the heart. We refer to these as atrial ectopic beats. These are entirely harmless and you can have as many as 20 to 30 percent of your heart beat being ectopic atrial beats without us having any concerns. You can also have ectopic beats that arise from the left ventricle. Whilst these also tend to be entirely benign, we tolerate a lower burden of ventricle ectopic beats. Certainly when you have ectopic beats that exceed 1 percent of your total heartbeat, we like to make sure that you have a structurally normal heart by performing an echocardiogram.