Human health - the main componentnormal 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.

Lately, a lot of people have complained aboutproblems with the heart and most often these are common diseases that are easy to treat and diagnose. But there are cases when the patient has a syndrome of prolonged 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 isthe 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 process of research, on the basis of data of equipment of various kinds. The main factor responsible for this condition is the electrical instability of the heart muscle.

People who have the syndrome of an elongated QT interval,with ineffective treatment or lack of it can be affected by 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, it has long been studieddeviation, and over the years scientists are able to learn more about it. 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 the method of 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 the QT index, exceeding the norm by 440 ms and higher.

Causes

Many factors can influence developmentthis disease. So, for example, it starts to develop because of hereditary diseases, including RW syndrome. In this case, very often the attacks 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 developmentthis 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 stresses. Usually it is the problems with the synthesis of proteins in the sodium and potassium channels that become the factors provoking 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.

Metabolic disorders can cause illness ordiets aimed at reducing calories in food. The depletion of the body in such situations can affect not only the heart. Therefore, these diets are better to coordinate with the doctor and constantly be under his supervision. Depletion can lead to the complication of certain cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary disease or mitral valve prolapse. The syndrome sometimes develops due to pathologies of the central nervous system and vegetative-vascular dystonia, as well as other disorders of the autonomic nervous system.

Symptoms

There are special signs that suggest 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, an attack can last up to twenty minutes.
• Convulsions in synoptic conditions, similar to epilepsy attacks externally, but the processes that provoke them are completely different.
• Sudden weakness in the body, accompanied by darkening of the eyes.
• Heart palpitations even in the absence of physical activity or emotional stress.
• Chest pains of different nature, continuing during an accelerated heartbeat, as well as accompanying fainting or dizziness and numbness in the arms and legs.

Diagnostics

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

If a patient is suspectedprolonged QT interval 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, turning into ventricular fibrillation. This method is the main one in determining the form of the disease.

There is also another study thatAllows to reveal a syndrome of the extended QT interval. It is carried out during the day. Therefore, it is called daily monitoring of ECG. The study allows to fix the heart activity of the patient during this period. A small device is attached to his body, which records the work of the heart, and after its removal, the specialist is engaged in deciphering 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 myocardial repolarization processes and ventricular extrasystoles change.

Treatment

If the patient has been diagnosed with prolongedQT interval, treatment should be comprehensive and adequate, because only 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, usingantiarrhythmic drugs. Properly selected medication 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 cure congenital long QT syndrome LQTS.

Surgery

If the patient has a risk of life threatening due toarrhythmias 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 the pathological deviation in the work of the heart. The disease can be caused from the outside. During physical exertion, for example, the device will not respond. But if the impulses carry a pathological character, it normalizes the work of the organ.

Surgery for a disease like syndromeextended QT interval, simple and fairly safe. Pacemaker is fixed to the left of the pectoralis major muscle. From it there go electrodes which surgeons fix on the necessary site, conducting them through the subclavian vein. The device can be configured using the programmer. With it, you can change the parameters of stimulation of the heart, depending on the personal characteristics of the patient. The device will be turned on every time when the work of the heart muscle goes beyond the specified parameters.

Conclusion

This disease is not always possiblediagnose because it is rarely pronounced. But at the same time the threat to the health of the patient is very big. Therefore, if there is even a slight risk of its occurrence, it is worthwhile to constantly undergo examinations and consult with experts.

If the diagnosis is confirmed, then a comprehensive and comprehensive treatment of this disease is necessary, because it can be fatal.