Prolonged QT interval on electrocardiogram and fainting — is there always a relationship?

Abstract

Using a clinical example, the article draws the attention of doctors to the problem of the prolonged QT interval (long QT) and the related problem of fainting (syncope). Syncope is a component of long QT syndrome, and syncope is a precursor of sudden cardiac death. However, syncope in a patient with long QT syndrome may have pathogenesis that is completely unrelated to abnormalities of cardiac ion channels. In other words, such a patient may have a second disease as a syntropy relates to prolonged QT interval, to an extent mimicking long QT syndrome. The presented medical history of a 33-year-old patient S. shows the complexity of differential diagnosis of the causes of syncope. The crucial part in the diagnosis, in addition to the clinical picture, was the so-called tilt test, little-known to general medical practice, as well as the laboriousness of making a final diagnosis of the long QT Syndrome type 2, which required a molecular genetic study whole-exome sequencing. Patient S. had vasovagal syncope that not associated with long QT syndrome, but she has a risk of sudden cardiac death, and the article identifies therapeutic and other measures to reduce this risk.