Long QT syndrome

View the Health Heart Book

Free

E-Newsletters

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. About our newsletters

  • Housecall
  • Alzheimer's caregiving
  • Living with cancer
Connect with others who've been there. Share stories. Learn. Join Mayo Clinic's
online community.

Prevention

By Mayo Clinic staff

If you have inherited long QT syndrome, be careful about which medications you take. Some medications — including certain appetite suppressants, decongestants and common antibiotics, such as erythromycin — may trigger dangerous heart rhythms. Ask your doctor what you can and can't take safely. Street drugs, such as cocaine and amphetamines, pose a serious risk for people with long QT syndrome.

In addition, seek medical treatment right away for illnesses that could result in low blood potassium levels, such as conditions that cause excessive vomiting and diarrhea. Such sicknesses could trigger an episode of long QT syndrome in people at risk. Your doctor may advise you not to take some drugs, such as diuretics, that lower blood potassium levels.

For some people — especially older adults with long QT syndrome who haven't had signs or symptoms of the condition in decades — preventive measures may be all the treatment that's required.

Coping and support
References
  1. Ackerman MJ, et al. Congenital long QT syndrome. In: Gussak I, et al. Electrical Diseases of the Heart; Genetics, Mechanisms, Treatment, Prevention. New York, NY.: Springer; 2008:462.
  2. Priori SG. Genetics of cardiac arrhythmias. In: Libby P, et al, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50012-1--cesec6&uniq=174957165&isbn=978-1-4160-4106-1&sid=927975209#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50012-1--cesec1%3Bfrom%3Dtoc%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-1-4160-4106-1. Accessed Dec. 10, 2009.
  3. Spazzolini C, et al. Clinical implications for patients with long QT syndrome who experience a cardiac event during infancy. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2009;54:832.
  4. Goldenberg I, et al. Risk factors for aborted cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death in children with the congenital long-QT syndrome. Circulation. 2008;117:2184.
  5. Hobbs JB, et al. Risk of aborted cardiac arrest of sudden cardiac death during adolescence in the long QT syndrome. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2006;296:1249.
  6. Sauer AJ, et al. Long QT syndrome in adults. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2007;49:329.
  7. Goldenberg I, et al. Long-QT syndrome after age 40. Circulation. 2008;117:2192.
  8. Johnson JN, et al. Identification of a possible pathogenic link between congenital long QT syndrome and epilepsy. Neurology. 2009;72:224.
  9. Tester DJ, et al. Cardiomyopathic and channelopathic causes of sudden unexplained death in infants and children. Annual Review of Medicine. 2009;60:69.
  10. Tester DJ, et al. Effect of clinical phenotype on yield of long QT syndrome genetic testing. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2006;47:764.
  11. Kapa S, et al. Genetic testing for long QT syndrome - Distinguishing pathogenic mutations from benign variants. Circulation. 2009;120:1752.
  12. Ackerman MJ, et al. Molecular diagnosis of the inherited long-QT syndrome in a woman who died after near-drowning. New England Journal of Medicine. 1999;341:1121.
  13. Tester DJ, et al. Postmortem long QT syndrome genetic testing for sudden unexplained death in the young. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2007;49:240.
  14. Genetic testing: Where to start. The Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes (SADS) Foundation. http://www.sads.org/index.php/General/Where-to-Start.html. Accessed Feb. 6, 2010.
  15. Taggart NW, et al. Diagnostic miscues in congenital long QT syndrome. Circulation. 2007;115:2613.
  16. Collura CA, et al. Left cardiac sympathetic denervation for the treatment of long QT syndrome and catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia using video-assisted thoracic surgery. Heart Rhythm. 2009;6:752.
  17. Zipes DP, et al. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2005;45:1354.
  18. Farnsworth MM, et al. When I go in to wake them ... I Wonder: Parental perceptions about congenital long QT syndrome. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. 2006;18:284.
  19. Ackerman MJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 1, 2010.
  20. Anand RG, et al. The role of fish oil in arrhythmia prevention. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention. 2008;28:92.
DS00434 March 2, 2010

© 1998-2012 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Print Share Reprints

Advertisement


Text Size: smaller largerlarger