LQTS

My son collapsed on 13 March 08 before getting ready for school while I was talking to him.  He is 11 yrs old and nothing like this has ever happened before. I thought he had a seizure, his eyes never moved or closed-he stared straight ahead-pupils dilated.  His heart was racing but he was not breathing and non responsive.  We called 911 and gave him rescue breaths.  Once admitted to peds they did 2 ECG's or EKG's and one came back abnormal, one boarderline for LQTS.  Is this normally a pretty good indication that this is what it is? We see the Peds Cartiologist tomorrow?  I'm scared.


This discussion is related to LQTS and Surgery.

[kenkeith]

For some perspective:
  
Long Q-T syndrome (LQTS) is an infrequent, hereditary disorder of the heart's electrical rhythm that can occur in otherwise healthy people. It usually affects children or young adults.
. A doctor can measure the time it takes for the Q-T interval (that is the tracing for left ventricle activation) to occur (in fractions of a second), and can tell if it occurs in a normal amount of time. If it takes longer than normal, it's called a prolonged Q-T interval, and create a rhythm disorder.

Not many symptoms ande may not have3 any symptoms. People who do have symptoms often exhibit fainting (syncope) and abnormal rate and/or rhythm of the heartbeat (arrhythmia). People with this syndrome may show prolongation of the Q-T interval during physical exercise, intense emotion (such as fright, anger or pain) or when startled by a noise. Some arrhythmias are potentially fatal, causing sudden death. In one type of inherited LQTS, the person may also become deaf.  Sorry for the report, but it does require immediate medical attention..

Studies of otherwise healthy people with LQTS indicate that they had at least one episode of fainting by the age of 10. The majority also had a family member with a long Q-T interval. People with LQTS don't necessarily have a prolonged Q-T interval all the time. At the time that they have an electrocardiogram (such as during a routine physical examination), the Q-T interval may actually be normal.

Alternatively, some healthy young people may not have a routine ECG, and LQTS may be suspected because of their family history or because of unexplained fainting episodes. In any family where repeated episodes of fainting or a history of sudden death exists, an investigation of the cause, including LQTS, should be undertaken.  Is there a family history?

There are treatments for LQTS, including medications such as beta blockers. Sometimes a surgical procedure is performed, and some people may benefit from an implantable defibrillator.






  
  Each day the average heart beats (expands and contracts) 100,000 times and pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood.
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