Long QT syndrome? Scared :(
Posted , 12 users are following.
Hey everyone! My name is Cristina! Im a little new to this so please spare me! This passed summer ive been having extreme anxiety over my heart ! And i recently heard about long qt syndrome which can have NO symptoms and lead to death. I have no family history of syncope or heart problems... I never passed out during physical exertion.. I've had FIVE ecgs and they all came back in normal sinus Rythym. My doctor sent me to a pediatric cardiologist even tho she didnt think it was necessary just to alleviate my stress. I had an echo, another ecg (one of the five) and the doctor reassured me that cardiac arrest wont happen to me due to excellent results. My main fear IS cardiac arrest! I dont want to die so young especially at this age! Im only 17 by the way. Im afraid that i could possibly have lqts and not even know it! I've told my parents about this and they keep saying we dont have lqts. I've also been experiencing pvcs and rarely any pacs. I heard that these are actually quite harmless and are nothing to worry about. But they're scary! I usually feel them when im resting. When im excersising the feeling of them goes away. I've had plenty of panic attacks thinking that i was dying. Im an active person who does swimming, which the doctor told me to keep doing. I cant help but think that i could just drop dead at any moment 
again, ive never passed out in my life... Never had any problems with my heart before the whole ANXIETY attacks hit... And now im worried that i could have lqts which first signs is often sudden death. Do you think five ecg's couldve missed the prolonged qt interval? I've had all of them within a span of weeks to months. Which makes me think " what if the ecg missed it all five times?" ( long qt interval) pls help!!!! I cant die yet they're so many things i havent done yet and i know people have it worse but im STILL scared. I never wore a holter monitor btw !
0 likes, 43 replies
borderriever Anxietysufferer
Posted
When I was younger I would go through all the fears when I exerted myself and never thought I would have reached retirement. This lead up to me having a severe car accident and been rushed into hospital.
They heard and saw a heart murmer and when I approached my parents they confirmed my complaint, they were advised to let me live my life and forget about it as the hospital advised.
I had been living my life climbing mountains and ridge walking in Scotland for quite a few years and I was ok, now I am in my mid sixties and still around with the same heart I had when younger at time of my accident.
All I will suggest is forget these concerns, you have had the tests so move on and enjoy your life. It sounds like you have a long life ahead of you. This problem you hav with its concerns are so natural for the young
Enjoy your life
BOB
Anxietysufferer borderriever
Posted
Thank you for your reply! It actually made me feel better when you said that problems like these are pretty normal for the young, but the thing is that a lot of people especially kids are dying from this condition... And almost all of the cases involved them not knowing anything about it, and that they were otherwise "healthy" people.
Mandie29 Anxietysufferer
Posted
As someone who was been through every heart worry let me assure you that you are FINE. You're only 17! The doctors always laugh at me in the cardiology office because I'm 21, I can only imagine what they think of you! 😂 You have to trust that the doctors know what they're doing. After all, they didn't go through all that schooling for nothing! I have Superventricular tachycardia which is essentially an abnormally high heart rate. It's annoying but totally not dangerous and it took my doctor a few different tests to find. She said if it was anything dangerous it would have been easier to spot! In other words, if you had something wrong the doctor would have found it already. Try to concentrate on working on your anxiety instead. Excercise, yoga, going out with friends, living life! You're too young to worry about your heart. Please message me anytime if you need help. I'm on the mend myself right now from a bad bought of health anxiety. Best wishes
Anxietysufferer Mandie29
Posted
Thank you for your reply! Ive read that long qt syndrome CAN happen to teens.. And often the first symptom is DEATH. Ive also heard that ecgs dont always spot long qt which makes me frustrated but scared at the same time. I've had 5 different ecgs and from what ive known none of them spotted lqts. But i feel like its still a possiblity!
i went to a cardiologist and he said my heart is perfect! But the fact that my heart could be structurally normal but still have lqts really irritates me. A lot of people go to EP's for stuff like this, and i cant go to an EP because its not an option for me. Recently ive been having a lot of pvcs amd im scared! I keep wondering of this could be a symptom of lqts. And the pvcs occur randomly, sometimes they are more frequent and sometimes they arent. I heard that they are harmless within themselves. My dad keeps telling me we dont have lqts, but they say you never know you have it until you get tested! And even tests could miss lqts :s
tess33005 Anxietysufferer
Posted
Darling, you are quite right when you say that LQTS can happen to teens.
But heart tests are very reliable nowadays and you've had so many tests which have not shown LQTS that you can safely conclude that you haven't got it. Simples.
tess33005 Anxietysufferer
Posted
Well, Cristina, since you've had so many ECGs done, and they were all normal, you haven't got Long QT Syndrome, so stop panicking about it.
You also had a holter - no Long QT - stop even thinking about it.
And don't google things, dear girl. It only makes you more frightened.
Try to learn to fight the anxiety disorder. Therapy is a good start.
Love Tess
Anxietysufferer tess33005
Posted
Tess,
I actually never had a holter monitor before
i couldnt sleep last night because of those annoying pvcs and allergies . Do you know any ways to kind of reduce pvcs? Because i feel them so much at night.
tess33005 Anxietysufferer
Posted
Anxietysufferer tess33005
Posted
tess33005 Anxietysufferer
Posted
Cristina, you've had five ECGs. None of them showed up any heart problems. I am positive that just ONE of those ECGs would have shown up LQTS. Also, a heart specialist told you your heart was perfect. Why don't you believe him?
Anxietysufferer tess33005
Posted
I really try to, ive been to like 10 doctors this summer and they all said i have severe anxiety. The problem is that people who have lqts often dont know it, and when they get ecgs the ecg doesnt find anything wrong initially but then later on after they die or pass out they turn out to have lqts
tess33005 Anxietysufferer
Posted
Please try to be realistic, Cristina. You've been to ten doctors? You've had 5 ECGs. A heart specialist has told you that your heart is perfect.
There isn't any treatment that I know of for LQTS anyway. My neighbour who is 20 years old, has it. All they said to her was that she should avoid certain medications.
You haven't got LQTS. End of story. I am not going to post anything else in this discussion as I can't think of anything else to say.
I hope you get some therapy.
lisalisa67 Anxietysufferer
Posted
Anxietysufferer lisalisa67
Posted
I was prescribed Klonopin, the doctor said to take it whenever i felt like i needed it, but i stopped taking it because i didnt want to become so dependent on it. I take a little bag of it everywhere i go just incase. But do you think that clonazepam (benzo) could cause palpitations? Because when i started taking it thats when i began to notice them.. I had them before i went to the doctor and after the visit they went away. But a few weeks ago they started coming back, but more severely. I heard about beta blockers, but i've never taken them, i heard that they could sometimes make the arrythmmias worse
lisalisa67 Anxietysufferer
Posted
I hated hated beta blockers. I had a horrid experience trying them. But thats me.lasted six days my doctor told me to throw them out immediately lol. That was me. I cant speak for others it gripped on to my digestive receptors and didnt play out well. Aside from that and freezing cold limbs and i dont know for me it was bad. I might react weird to meds some cyp450 receptor thing. So thats just what happened with me.
Klonopin might give you that "hangover" feeling for a but nit usually it has long half life so it weans you off it by the nature if it. Im talking about as needed. Not in a daily basis thats a much more difficult wean. Xanax has a hangover effect too i get a little jittery and off for a day or two after. If I use it more then two days in a row i do get palps not that im thinking about it. Very rarely have done that, i try only one day at a time.My friends and I laugh over it and call it the xanax hangover. So it can happen but when its needed it great. I carry it too, sometimes thats enough knowing its there.
but you also seem to obssess over health stuff. I dont have that part.that might be a different medication to quiet that down. I have heard good stuff with ocd and cbt.