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Maternal (Expert Forum)
Infant apnea, heart arhythmia related?
Patient medical question and answer from The Maternal and Child Health Forum. Health topic area and articles about newborn care
Infant apnea, heart arhythmia related?
by JSR__0, Feb 01, 1999 12:00AM
Are infant apnea and heart arhythmia related conditions? Our son was just born last week. A nurse checking his vitals found his alert pulse rate had dropped to 90. The pediatrician the next morning, as a precautionary measure, ran an EKG. The EKG reported a "prolongation of QT and a QRS abnormality." Just what does that mean?
Our son is now on a home monitor. Over the last three days, he has had three episodes of three seconds duration, in which his pulse dropped below 80 while sleeping. He has had one apnea episode, during sleep, that alarmed for one second before correcting itself.
The monitor measures both heartrate and respiration. Are these related, or merely a means for one machine to double up on labor? We are worried, as we try to explore what might be in store for us. Please advise. Thank you.
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Dear JSR :
Thank you for your question.
The EKG machine report is not enough to diagnose a conduction abnormality in the heart , a cardiologist has to read the EKG . if it’s confirmed by the cardiologist to be truly a conduction abnormality ( in certain cases prolonged QT interval maybe suspicious on the basis of one ECG and the cardiologist would require to monitor your baby’s heart by continuous ECG called a Holter monitor ), causes have to be identified . If prematurity , electrolyte disturbances , or central nervous system abnormalities are excluded , Long QT syndrome maybe a possible diagnosis . If that is the case , you need to talk to your cardiologist in detail on what the treatment maybe , and for how long .
Regarding the apnea monitor , it will continue alarming for many false and true episodes of breathing cessation and heart rates that are below what the monitor has been set at . The min. respiratory pause that’s acceptable is less than 20 seconds , after which the alarm will go off. A Significant episode that you are trying to catch with the apnea monitor by the time you reach your baby will include no breathing , no pulse , changes in baby’s color to pale or blue ( look around the mouth ) , limpness ( which is difficult to assess if your baby is asleep but is necessary to assess if the alarm is going off).
If prolonged QT interval or any other conduction abnormality has been excluded by both your pediatrician and cardiologist , the low heart rate that the monitor is recording maybe acceptable up to as low as 70/min.during sleep. Re-calibrating your monitor’s settings is a decision you have to discuss with your pediatrician , and come to an agreement you will both be comfortable with.
Disclaimer ; this information is for educational purposes only . your physician is ultimately responsible for your health , diagnosis and treatment.
Keywords : Prolonged QT interval*(cardiology ) , Apnea monitor*( neonatolgy )
