Long QT Syndrome

Hello, My 6 yr old son was recently diagnosed with Long QT. His Doctor put him on 12.5mg of Atenolol to take in the morning. Is that a good dosage and should it only be taken once a day? Another question is, could this medicine have the opposite effect meaning that instead of making him feel tired, it makes him feel very hyper and also his heart seems to beat really hard and faster than it ever did, it seems to me anyways. Medicines that he has took before to make him sleepy before surgery have really wired him up. Would you also think that the medicine is enough and no pacemaker or defibrillater would be required as long as there are no syncopes. He had been on the medicine a month and his Dr said that his EKG was the same as the last appointment before he was on the meds. By the way, we have made an appointment with Dr. Richard Sterba at the Cleveland Clinic on Feb. 6th. Can't wait to get there as I feel the first Dr isn't very concerned. He didn't even bother to tell me this was what my son had and I seen it on the billing sheet after I drove 2 hours to get home. When I called and questioned him, he told me everything. Thank you for your time and this helpful forum. Melissa

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

Dear Melissa,
I would say 12.5 mg is an average starting dose for a child.  Atenolol is long acting and can be taken once a day.  I haven't heard of beta-blockers causing a hyper response but I do not deal with pediatric patients.   Dr. Sterba is an expert on Long-QT and I think you will be very pleased with meeting him.  He tends to favor the use of beta-blockers alone.  Best wishes.  Bring your snow boots to Cleveland!

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A related discussion, Atenolol for LQT? was started.