Scheinman/Peter ECG CornerSudden death in a “healthy” youth: Lessons learned
Section snippets
Case presentation
A 19-year-old athletic man presented with cardiac arrest. Two years earlier, he had experienced an episode of rapid palpitations during competition associated with presyncope. At that time, his vital signs were stable, electrocardiogram (ECG) was normal (QTc 440 ms), and exercise echocardiogram was normal. He was advised to add salt to his diet. Months later, the patient again experienced rapid palpitations while walking to his dormitory, but this time he collapsed with documented ventricular
Discussion
LQTS is a well-known risk factor for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias.1 The diagnosis of LQTS, particularly without an identifiable genetic mutation, can be challenging. Often, the interpretation of QTc intervals can be riddled with confounding factors, including tachycardia, overcorrection of the Bazett formula,2,3 QT changes in the setting of central nervous system injury,4 as well as drugs and/or electrolyte abnormalities. Therefore, interpretation of a prolonged QT interval post cardiac
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Cited by (0)
Funding sources: The authors have no funding sources to disclose. Disclosures: The authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose.