Qt Interval

[Alli40]

Hi everyone,

I haven't been around much the last two months as we enjoyed a slow down of all symptoms over the last six months of the summer. We kept my daughter very quiet and she spent most of her time watching movies and reading and taking it easy. She was so bored by the end of the summer she couldn't wait to get to school! She has always loved school but this year was even more exciting after missing nearly half of last year. She started grade 7.

The last week of August (after a 3 month wait) we got in to see a cardiologist. She had an ECG done and they noted a higher QT. As a result they sent us home with a holter monitor for 24 hours and we are going back on Friday for another test and to see the cardiologist again. She was not symptomatic when she went in August but things are changing.

Since she has started back to school and the regular expectations and exercise, and stress and business of her everyday life, she has again started to have difficulties. These appear as major headaches, nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness and incredible irritability (she describes as feeling furious about nothing). She has missed a day or two each week. The other days she is exhausted and sometimes can't eat dinner.

Does anyone know much about QT rates?

Thanks,

Christine

[pat57]

she should not take decongestants unless Dr. oks it. I have a minimally prolonged QT and take a med that can cause that. My heart Dr, says NO

decongestants .

[jesse1919]

I've heard of "long QT syndrome" but that's all I know.

[cardiactec]

Hi there,

Prolonged QT intervals can be congenital/genetic or acquired. acquired meaning things like certain medications may be a contributing factor for long QT. Electrolyte imbalances can cause QT prolongation.

what was your daughter's heart rate and QT measured on ECG?

[flop]

The QT interval is the length of a specific section of the ECG trace. Sometimes it is automatically calculated by the ECG machine (notoriously inaccurate), it should be measured carefully with a ruler or calipers and checked on several areas of the ECG recording. The normal values are for an ECG measured when the heart rate is 60/min. If her HR was faster or slower then the doctor probably used a formula to "correct" the value (shown as QTc).

There can be many reasons for having a prolonged QT interval. Some people are born with this abnormality, others get it occasionally with no-known cause, sometimes it is caused by medication in someone who is prone to QT prolongation. It is good to hear that the cardiologist is following this up - let us know how she gets on.

Flop