Long QT interval syndrome: description, possible causes and characteristics of treatment

Human health is the main component of normal and quality life. But we do not always feel healthy. Problems can arise for various reasons, and their importance can also be different. For example, a common cold does not cause people's fears, it is quickly treated and does not cause much damage to overall health. But if problems arise with internal organs, this is more dangerous for life and for a long time worsens our state of health.

Recently, a lot of people complain of heart problems and most often these are common diseases that are easy to treat and diagnose. But there are cases when the patient shows the syndrome of an extended QT interval. In medicine, this term refers to the expressed or acquired state of a person, accompanied by an increase in the duration of this interval on a segment of the cardiogram. Moreover, this syndrome is attributed only to lengthening more than 55 ms from normal indices. And when the disease develops, the deviation of this interval can be more than 440 ms.

Manifestations

In most cases, for the patient himself, this disease passes asymptomatically, and it is almost impossible to detect it independently. In general, people with this diagnosis are violated repolarization and depolarization, in connection with a change in the symmetric innervation of the heart. It is possible to observe this only in the course of research, on the basis of data of equipment of various kinds. The main factor responsible for this condition is electrical instability of the heart muscle.

People who have QT prolonged interval syndrome, with ineffective treatment or lack of it, may develop ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia. These complications are much more dangerous for the life of patients and cause damage to the general condition. In this regard, if you suspect a disease, you should immediately take care of your health, otherwise you may have bad consequences. In addition, complications with this disease are quite serious. They can lead not only to a disruption in the working capacity and deterioration of the general well-being of the patient, but also to a fatal outcome.

Kinds

In medicine, such a deviation has long been studied, and scientists have managed to learn more about it over the years. This disease is divided into two types, namely the acquired and congenital syndrome of prolongation of the QT interval. Determine which type of patient is available only by research. With a congenital disorder, there is a problem with the failure of the genetic code. With the acquired disease, various factors can influence.

Forms

There are also certain types of the course of the disease:

• The hidden form. It is characterized by normal interval values during the examination, and the first attack of syncope causes a sudden fatal outcome.
• There are attacks of syncope, but the QT interval during the test is not prolonged.
• The lengthening of the interval is isolated and is not reflected in the anamnesis.
• Syncopal states proceed with an elongation of QT, exceeding the norm by 440 ms and higher.

Causes

Many factors can influence the development of this disease. So, for example, it starts to develop because of hereditary diseases, including RW syndrome. In this case, very frequent are fits of loss of consciousness, which actually lead to the development of this disease. And also the syndrome E-R-L, if the patient has congenital deafness. With what such combination of symptoms is connected and how exactly it provokes the development of the disease, scientists have not been able to find out yet. Also mutation of genes can cause the development of this disease. This is the most basic cause of the congenital disease, but in some cases it does not appear immediately, but already in adulthood, after the transferred stresses. Usually it is the problems with the synthesis of proteins in the sodium and potassium channels that become the factors that provoke the syndrome of the extended QT interval. The reason may lie in the side effect of taking certain medications. Most of all, the threat poses strong antibiotics, which the patient can take to treat other diseases.

To cause the disease may be a metabolic disorder or a diet aimed at reducing calories in food. Depletion of the organism in such situations can affect not only the heart. Therefore, such diets are better coordinated with a doctor and constantly be under his supervision. Depletion can lead to complication of certain cardiovascular diseases, such as ischemic disease or mitral valve prolapse. The syndrome sometimes develops due to CNS pathologies and with vegetovascular dystonia, as well as other disorders of the autonomic nervous system.

Symptoms

There are special signs that indicate that the patient has the syndrome of an extended QT interval. Symptoms of this disease are as follows:

• Loss of consciousness lasting from a couple of minutes to a quarter of an hour. In some cases, the attack can last up to twenty minutes.
• Convulsions in synoptic states, similar to epileptic seizures externally, but the processes provoking them are quite different.
• Sudden weakness in the body, accompanied by darkening in the eyes.
• Strong heartbeat even in the absence of physical activity or emotional stress.
• Chest pains of a different nature, continuing during an accelerated heartbeat, as well as concomitant fainting or dizziness and numbness in the hands and feet.

Diagnostics

Very often, the syndrome of the extended QT interval, in children in particular, occurs without symptoms. In such a situation, the patient can feel completely healthy and suddenly die. Therefore, if a person is in a risk zone of the disease, then it is necessary to be examined regularly by a doctor to rule out the possibility of developing the disease. To diagnose the disease, modern medicine uses several methods.

If it is suspected that the patient has an extended QT interval syndrome and health problems clearly indicate this, then electrocardiography is the most important study to determine the disease. Carrying it during an attack, the device will show signs of ventricular tachycardia, which turns into ventricular fibrillation. This method is the main one in determining the form of the disease.

There is also one more study that allows to identify the syndrome of the extended QT interval. It is carried out for a day. Therefore, it is called daily monitoring of the ECG. The study allows to fix the patient's cardiac activity during this period. A small device is attached to his body, which records the heart readings, and after removing it, the specialist is engaged in decoding the data recorded by the device. They allow to determine whether the patient has a severe rigid bradycardia, whether the morphology of the T wave is changing, and whether there are disturbances in the processes of myocardial repolarization and ventricular extrasystole.

Treatment

If the patient has been diagnosed with an extended QT interval syndrome, the treatment should be comprehensive and adequate, because only in this way it is possible to prevent the development of complications that are dangerous to health and can be fatal.

Medication Therapy

Cure the disease can be using antiarrhythmic drugs. Correctly selected medication course will not only eliminate the symptoms of this disease, but also stabilize the cardiovascular system for a long time. This is one of the methods that allows to cure the congenital syndrome of the extended interval QT LQTS.

Surgery

If a patient has a risk of life-threatening due to arrhythmia in this disease, experts recommend implantation of a pacemaker. His work is to normalize the frequency of contractions of the heart muscle. Modern medicine has developed special devices that determine the pathological deviation in the work of the heart. The disease can be caused from outside. With physical exertion, for example, the device will not respond. But if the impulses carry a pathological character, it normalizes the work of the organ.

Operation with a disease such as the syndrome of an extended QT interval is simple and fairly safe. The pacemaker is attached to the left of the large pectoral muscle. From it go the electrodes, which surgeons fix on the necessary site, conducting them through the subclavian vein. The device can be adjusted via the programmer. With it, you can change the parameters of heart stimulation, depending on the personal characteristics of the patient. The device will be switched on every time the cardiac muscle function goes beyond the set parameters.

Conclusion

This disease can not always be diagnosed, as it rarely shows itself clearly. But at the same time the threat to the patient's health is very high. Therefore, if there is at least a slight risk of its occurrence, it is worthwhile constantly undergoing surveys and consulting with specialists. If the diagnosis is confirmed, then a comprehensive and full-fledged treatment of this disease is necessary, because it can lead to death.