I have grown very anxious/depressed about my condition (in concert with some other life challenges) and, as a result, my doctor has prescribed 50mg Zoloft. As a PAC/PVC sufferer, am I at increased risk for a cardiac event by taking Zoloft?
Yesterday I had a further ecg (to check my qt interval as I am withdrawing from zoloft and it had previously caused a slight prolongation of my qt interval (470ms). I was so nervous during the ecg that my heart rate was around 120 bpm and I felt a few pvcs etc.... The computer diagnosis said 'sinus tachycardia" and "left anterior hemiblock". My GP said he didn't think I had a hemiblock, but noted the QRS duration was a little wide - 55ms.
Hi - I have some questions about long QT syndrome. I've recently had 3 EKGs because of palpitations and a fast heartbeat. I've asked the doctor who did them about long QT and each time he said there was nothing showing I had it. My QT/QTc was 350/418 on the first one I believe, on the second 362/425 and on the third 358/440. Heartbeat was 86, 83 and 91 respectively. The last one is the one that got me worried, because apparently 440 is the limit for normal.
Sounds like a horrible diet, which could cause a lot of problems, including low potassium (and long QT), anxiety, low magnesium (and long QT), vitamin defiency, etc. You need at least 3000 mg of potassium daily, and preferrably 3.500-4.700 mg (guidelines vary between countries, in Norway it's 3.700).
I think your prolonged corrected QT interval was caused by 1) Mathematical overestimation from the Bazett formula due to a high heart rate, and 2) Low potassium.
Thanks for your reply. If it changes anything, I have also found an earlier EKG with a ventricular rate of 96 and QT (uncorrected) 326. Shouldn't my uncorrected QT be lower, or does it stop decreasing with increased heart rate like this? Sorry for disturbing you with such questions, but my anxiety sometimes gets the best out of me...
Yes, a well known side effect of the majority of SSRI''s is that they can prolong the QT interval. This does not mean that they will and "prolonging" the QT interval is not the same thing as having a "prolonged QT interval".
my daughter had 2 ekgs and showed a QT interval of 468 with a heart rate of 68. Obviously this is a prolonged qt, but what are the odds that it is Long QT syndrome? If it isn't, what is it???? I can't find any answers. I do know that it is considered a borderline QT interval until it hits 470. If she doesn't get diagnosed with long qt syndrome (cardiology appointment is next week) Does it just mean that she has a long qt interval and nothing else?
Long QT Syndrome is normally a lifelong condition. That being said, a prolonged QT interval can be caused by medication or electrolyte abnormalities, even in healthy individuals without Long QT Syndrome. Additionally, some individuals with Long QT Syndrome don't have a consistently prolonged QT interval. It's possible to have a occasional normal EKG, and still have Long QT Syndrome.
What do you mean by "EKG showed problems with QT intervals"? The reason I ask is that the QT interval has to be corrected using something like the RR interval to have real meaning. RR is just the time interval from beat to beat, and if you have bradycardia there might need to be more correction going on. On the other hand, some drugs affect the QT interval. If you do have a prolonged QT caused by drugs, I should think it should be reversible when you stop taking the drug.
My holter only shows pac 7 beats and other than that is fine. My qt avg was 383 and qtc avg was 398. My QT max was 467 and QTc max was 480 msec. My percentage of QTc greater than 450 ms was 0%. The other two ekg that I was done about 4 years ago show qt 372 qtc 421 and qt 360 qtc 428. My echo is fine.
My internal medicine doctor of 12 years wants me to see a cardiologist. But it is soooooo rare to diagnose Long QT on ECG. I have had an episode of documented Long QT on ECG when I was hypokalemic (low potassium).
After exhaustive research on internet, I found that the genetic blood test for Long QT Syndrome only identifies 70% of Long QT cases. So you have a 30% chance of getting a negative test and still have the syndrome. The test is $5,000 for one person.
I am a worrier and saw a different EP to confirm I have nothing to worry about and he said he definitely thinks I have a long qt. What? He said he doesn’t think I have long qt syndrome, but that I just have a long qt. He said he agrees with the computer printouts and says the computer printouts are usuallly pretty accurate. I asked him to manually calculate one of the ekgs and he said he came out with a range from 460-490 on just one of them.
Hello,
Last sunday my 12 year old daughter stood up quickly from the couch and fainted without warning. This had never happened before. She came to almost immediately and said she felt fine. Just prior to fainting she had been sleeping for about 12 hours and also had had nothing to eat or drink for close to 14 hours.
When we took her to the ER they found that her QT was 459. The next day the EKG was repeated and was 441.
There are many things that go into reading QT and corrected QT (QTc) on an EKG. The important thing to remember is that the EKG measurements are often not correct. The other important point is that it sounds like your family history is mostly coronary artery disease and not just sudden death. I think it is very important that you gather your medical records and see a cardiologist or cardiac electrophysiologist.
The QT interval varies with the heart rate and the faster the rate the shorter the QT and with slow heart rates the QT prolongs. However 695 is distinctly abnormal and clearly requires further workup. As mentioned drugs can also alter the QT interval. At slow heart rates --in the 40's the QT can approach 500 msec in normal women.
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