One more thing that I didn't mention. You may have heard this before but it is very important for people with LQTS to stay hydrated, drinking Gatorade or other sports drinks with electrolytes are also good. Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium are important, but I wouldn't run out and get supplements without your doctors consent. Just eat right and a banana a day wouldn't hurt. And another thing, LQTS can be triggered by stress so please try and stay calm. Keep researching and hopefully things will go well with your EP on the 30th!
I forgot to mention that yes it is common for LQTS symptoms to come on suddently. My 19 year old son who had a cardiac arrest had never had any symptoms before his arrest. My 9 year and 18 year olds have had dizzy spells and papitations. I fainted for a time when I was younger but haven't fainted in years.
If you got your EP through SADS then he should know about LQTS. Our family has been tested so far with EKG, stress testing and holter monitoring. We also had Echos to rule out other heart problems. We are going to get genetic testing done , bur EP is trying to get us in a research program that might not cost as much. I am happy to hear that you have sent your EKG to Dr. Priori in Italy. She is a wonderful person and she is great at diagnosing LQTS. I sent her ours and she was instrumental in our getting a referral to an EP. I sent her high res EKGs via email and heard back from her within a few days. She also gave recommendations for EPs in our country. I am from Canada. Good luck at your appt.
I forgot to ask you, how did your family get your LQTS diagnosed? Just through EKGs or did you have blood tests, too?
Is it normal for someone with LQTS to have dizziness/vertigo suddenly begin and happen nearly every day for 3 months? That is what I am experiencing now. It gets better with anti-vertigo meds but it's present most of the time and is associated with a feeling like my head is full and sometimes if I am standing, I feel like someone pulled the floor out from under me.
I am scheduled to see an EP that I found through sads.org so I am hoping he is familiar with LQTS. I see him on April 30th but I wished it was sooner that that. I am so scared. :(
I also sent my EKG's to Dr. Sylvia Piori (sp?) in Italy. Supposedly, she is world reknown for her work in Long QT. I have no idea if I will ever hear from her, though.
I wouldn't worry too much about the RSR. there is a normal variant that is quite common in people.
Your QTc is in the high normal for a female. But it should be read manually to know for sure. Machines are almost never correct in calculating the QTc. And before we were diagnosed by an Electrophysiologist (EP) (cardiologist that specializes in heart rhythms) we had several regular cardiologist brush us off. Many people with Long QT Syndrome have dizziness, feelings of spinning, vision blackening and actual fainting. QTc are just one of the things that affect the heart
I am a female.
Yes, I do have palps and have had them caught on Holter only to be told they were benign PVC's. I have dizziness but it's more like vertigo.
My highest QTc was taken while I was on Avelox (a known QT prolonging drug) and it was read at 459ms. A cardio on another forum told me today that most people don't have symptoms of prolonged QT until it is very prolonged( I think he said above 500ms) but I am sure there are some people for which this is not true.
I have also been told be a few different doctors that QTc is often misinterpreted by the machine but noone has bothered to tell me what they think it is.
I am worried about the RSR thing, too although the same cardio forum dr. told me if the QRS is below .10 (which mine have always been) thst is of no concern.
I was wondering if you are male or female? In most cases the other poster is correct in stating that an EKG tech will fetch a doc if there is an immediate problem showing. However, with that said, Long QT Syndrome can be very subtle on and EKG and the tech and sometimes even a cardiologist will not be aware of it. If you are male, then 448 is on the high end of borderline long QT. For a woman it is on the high end of normal but could still be long. EKG machines are famous for incorrectly reading a QT interval. Our family has Long QT Syndrome and our QTc are all in the borderline limit except when my 19 year old suffered a cardiac arrest from this. He was revived and is now on medication and is also considereing an ICD. Myself and my 3 children are all on beta blockers now. If you have had a cardiac death in your family, I suggest that you go to an EP as soon as possible. Are you having any symptoms? Dizziness, palps, faininting? My sister who also has Long QT Syndrome has a RSR in V1 or V2 as well on her EKGs. Not sure what the relevance is though. My 9 year old has it too.
Then that should reassure you. I wouldn't run down the GP simply because the result was not indicative of a heart problem though. The EP may tell you the same thing.
He thinks I am just anxious about it. But given the fact that I have had a sudden cardiac death in the family, who wouldn't be anxious?
I made an appt. with an EP and feel better that someone more qualified than a GP will be reviewing my tests. I got in at the end of April which I feel very fortunate for since the wait for a specialist can take a long time.
Have you told the doctor about your specific concerns and asked them why they concluded it was normal? You should give them a call and do that and you may feel better.
I am specifically worried about this:
RSR in V1 or V2
Minimal ST elevation, inferior leads......ST > .05 mV II, III, aVF
ST elevation is not supposed to be a good thing, right? And I can't find any info on what RSR means. Also, my QT interval seems long and I had a cardiac death in the family a few months ago. It was my second cousin, not an immediate family but still it causes me to worry.
The RSR pattern can indicate something, but in context of their evaluation apparently did not.
Where are the abnormalities?
Normal and minimal basically add up to normal don't they?
You know, when they look at an ekg test and it's off in anyway, in my experience, the tech runs out the door right there and gets the doctor. They get you scheduled for follow-ups right away and, in most cases, the follow-ups show that you were fine all along anyway.
If they aren't on the phone to you concerned about it that's because it doesn't indicate a problem.