Human health is the main component of a 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 fear, it is quickly treated and does not cause much harm to general health. But if problems arise with internal organs, it is already more dangerous for life and for a long time worsens our well-being.
Recently, a lot of people complain about heart problems and most often these are common diseases that are easy to treat and diagnose. But there are times when a patient has an extended QT interval syndrome. In medicine, this term refers to a pronounced or acquired state of a person, accompanied by an increase in the duration of this interval on the segment of the cardiogram. Moreover, only lengthenings of more than 55 ms from normal values are attributed to this syndrome. Moreover, when the disease develops, the deviation indices of this interval can be more than 440 ms.
Manifestations
In most cases, the disease is asymptomatic for the patient himself, and it is almost impossible to independently detect it. Basically, in people with this diagnosis, the processes of repolarization and depolarization are disrupted, due to a change in the symmetrical innervation of the heart. This can only be noticed in the research process, on the basis of various types of equipment. The main factor causing this condition is the electrical instability of the heart muscle.
People with long QT syndrome, with or without treatment failure, can get ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia. These complications are much more dangerous for the lives of patients and damage the general condition. In this regard, if you suspect the presence of this disease, you should immediately take up your health, otherwise bad consequences may occur. In addition, the complications of this disease are quite serious. They can lead not only to impaired performance and a deterioration in the general well-being of the patient, but also to death.
Kinds
In medicine, such a deviation has long been studied, and over the years, scientists manage to learn more about it. This disease is divided into two types, namely, acquired and congenital syndrome of prolongation of the QT interval. It is possible to determine which type of patient the patient can only by research. With a congenital disorder, there is a problem with the failure of the genetic code. With acquired on the development of the disease, various factors can influence.
Forms
Also, certain types of the course of the disease are distinguished:
- Hidden form. It is characterized by normal values of the interval during the examination, and the first attack of syncope causes a sudden death.
- Syncope attacks are observed, but the QT interval during the test is not lengthened.
- The elongation of the interval is isolated and is not reflected in the history.
- Syncopal conditions occur with an elongation of the QT index exceeding the norm by 440 ms and higher.
Causes
Many factors can affect the development of this disease. So, for example, it begins to develop due to hereditary diseases, including R-U syndrome. In this case, attacks of loss of consciousness are very frequent, which in fact lead to the development of this disease. As well as E-R-L syndrome, if the patient has congenital deafness. What is the reason for this combination of symptoms and how exactly it provokes the development of the disease, scientists have not yet been able to find out.
Also, mutation of genes can cause the development of this disease. This is the main reason for a congenital disease, but in some cases it does not appear immediately, but already in adulthood, after suffering stresses. Usually, it is the problems with protein synthesis in the sodium and potassium channels that become factors that provoke the syndrome of an extended QT interval. The reason may lie in the side effect of taking certain medications. Strongest antibiotics that the patient can take to treat other diseases are the most dangerous.
Metabolic disorders or diets aimed at reducing calories in food can cause the disease. The depletion of the body in such situations can affect not only the heart. Therefore, such diets are best coordinated with the doctor and constantly be under his supervision. Depletion can lead to complications of certain cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary artery 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 an extended QT interval syndrome. 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 conditions, similar in appearance to epilepsy attacks, but the processes that provoke them are completely different.
- Sudden weakness in the body, accompanied by darkening in the eyes.
- A strong heartbeat even in the absence of physical activity or emotional stress.
- Pain in the chest of a different nature, continuing during an accelerated heartbeat, as well as their associated fainting or dizziness and numbness of the arms and legs.
Diagnostics
Very often, the syndrome of an extended QT interval, in children in particular, proceeds without symptoms. In such a situation, the patient may feel completely healthy and die suddenly. Therefore, if a person is at risk of the disease, it is necessary to be examined regularly by a doctor to exclude the possibility of developing the disease. To diagnose a disease, modern medicine uses several methods.
If there is a suspicion 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 out during an attack, the device will show signs of ventricular tachycardia, which passes into ventricular fibrillation. This method is the main in determining the form of the disease.
There is also another study that can detect long QT syndrome. It is carried out during the day. Therefore, it is called daily monitoring of ECG. The study allows you to record the patient's cardiac activity during this period. A small apparatus is attached to his body, which records the readings of the heart, and after its removal, the specialist decrypts the data recorded by the device. They make it possible to determine whether the patient has severe rigid bradycardia, whether the morphology of the T wave changes, 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, treatment should be comprehensive and adequate, because only in this way can the development of complications that are dangerous to health and can be fatal.
Drug therapy
You can cure the disease using antiarrhythmic drugs. A correctly selected medical course will not only eliminate the symptoms of this disease, but also stabilizes the cardiovascular system for a long period. This is one of the methods to treat the congenital syndrome of the extended QT interval of LQTS.
Surgery
If the patient has a risk of life threatening due to arrhythmia in this disease, experts recommend implantation of a pacemaker. His job is to normalize the frequency of contractions of the heart muscle. Modern medicine has developed special devices that determine a pathological deviation in the work of the heart. The disease can be caused from the outside. Under physical stress, for example, the device will not respond. But if the impulses are pathological in nature, it normalizes the work of the organ.
Surgery for a disease such as long QT interval syndrome is simple and fairly safe. A pacemaker is fixed to the left of the pectoralis major muscle. Electrodes come from him, which surgeons fix on the necessary site, passing them through the subclavian vein. The device can be configured using the programmer. With it, you can change the parameters of heart stimulation, depending on the personal characteristics of the patient. Turning on the device will occur every time the work of the heart muscle goes beyond the specified parameters.
Conclusion
This disease can not always be diagnosed, since it rarely manifests itself severely. But at the same time, the threat to the patient’s health is very large. Therefore, if there is even a slight risk of its occurrence, it is worthwhile to constantly undergo examinations and consult with specialists.
If the diagnosis is confirmed, then a comprehensive and complete treatment of this disease is necessary, because it can lead to death.