I was recently diagnosed with a Long Q Rhythm. I'm wondering if there is anyone else out there with this problem.
My Dr. recommends Beta Blocker and no more racing. He also commented that I've had this condition all my life so I'll probably be ok.
I would like to PM with anyone out there who is swimming with a similar situation. I am feeling very conflicted and would like to talk to someone in the same boat.
I read the paragraph about the sisters who swam in Nationals with a Long Q diagnosis, in fact that article motivated me to go to the electrophysicist (sp) and get this checked out by a specialist.
Google put thread-specific ads up here, and on a lark, I clicked on one that offers genetic testing. Kind of interesting overview of the problem (though who knows if it is accurate?):
www.genedx.com/.../patients_guide_lqt.pdf
A couple notes:
They say that if your insurance won't pay, they can give you a significant discount
Not sure why swimming, above all sports, seems to be the most dangerous, but it's probably because of the drowning risk. Then again, maybe it has something to do with strenuous exercise in the horizontal position? No joke intended. Perhaps the heart pumps slightly differently during sports where gravity is not a major factor.
They also say that sleeping with an alarm clock is potentially dangerous--not good, apparently, to be startled out of a deep sleep.
To our learned physicians, Gull and Taruky, I apologize if my posts here have seemed at all obnoxious in that "idiotic know-it-all" kind of way you no doubt see in patients all the time.
I don't mean to be obnoxious; I just empathize so strongly with the plight that Amy so eloquently described.
What would the downside be to them swimming the way have been but only in facilities with AEDs and qualified guards/coaches ready to snap into action if something dire did happen? I mean once the heart goes into ventricular fibrillation, can't it be stopped by timely application of a defibrillator? It's not instant death, is it? I mean you have a a minute or two to be revived?
My other questions:
Does lack of symptoms have no relevance to risk?
Does age at diagnosis have no relevance to risk? (Most people find out by age 20, don't they?)
Would an implanted pacemaker keep them safe--I know at least once friend who swims with a pacemaker.
Finally, in your example of melanoma, you cite 1 in 10,000 for most, but 1 in 500 for those who are exposed to the sun too much. I suspect you pulled these figures out for illustrative purposes only. But does anyone have risk figures for LQI? What percentage of the average population dies from sudden cardiac arrest? What percentage of the population of people with LQI dies from it?
Reading between the lines here, I get the idea that Bobinator is not sure she will live out the week. I just don't think her risk is that severe. Do you know any figures--or know where she could find any figures?
Google put thread-specific ads up here, and on a lark, I clicked on one that offers genetic testing. Kind of interesting overview of the problem (though who knows if it is accurate?):
www.genedx.com/.../patients_guide_lqt.pdf
A couple notes:
They say that if your insurance won't pay, they can give you a significant discount
Not sure why swimming, above all sports, seems to be the most dangerous, but it's probably because of the drowning risk. Then again, maybe it has something to do with strenuous exercise in the horizontal position? No joke intended. Perhaps the heart pumps slightly differently during sports where gravity is not a major factor.
They also say that sleeping with an alarm clock is potentially dangerous--not good, apparently, to be startled out of a deep sleep.
To our learned physicians, Gull and Taruky, I apologize if my posts here have seemed at all obnoxious in that "idiotic know-it-all" kind of way you no doubt see in patients all the time.
I don't mean to be obnoxious; I just empathize so strongly with the plight that Amy so eloquently described.
What would the downside be to them swimming the way have been but only in facilities with AEDs and qualified guards/coaches ready to snap into action if something dire did happen? I mean once the heart goes into ventricular fibrillation, can't it be stopped by timely application of a defibrillator? It's not instant death, is it? I mean you have a a minute or two to be revived?
My other questions:
Does lack of symptoms have no relevance to risk?
Does age at diagnosis have no relevance to risk? (Most people find out by age 20, don't they?)
Would an implanted pacemaker keep them safe--I know at least once friend who swims with a pacemaker.
Finally, in your example of melanoma, you cite 1 in 10,000 for most, but 1 in 500 for those who are exposed to the sun too much. I suspect you pulled these figures out for illustrative purposes only. But does anyone have risk figures for LQI? What percentage of the average population dies from sudden cardiac arrest? What percentage of the population of people with LQI dies from it?
Reading between the lines here, I get the idea that Bobinator is not sure she will live out the week. I just don't think her risk is that severe. Do you know any figures--or know where she could find any figures?
