Vol. 6, Issue 10 (2017)

Author(s):
Sergiy Fedorov

Abstract:
Long QT syndrome is characterized by prolongation of the corrected QT (QTc) interval on the surface electrocardiogram and is associated with precipitation of torsade de pointes, a polymorphic ventricular tachycardia that may cause sudden death. The prevalence of Long QT syndrome is close to 1/3000-1/5000. The QT interval duration is physiologically variable: the QTc is calculated using the Bazett’s formula. Acquired long QT syndrome is an important issue for clinicians and a significant public health problem concerning the large number of drugs with this adverse effect with a potentially fatal outcome, the large number of patients exposed to these drugs, and our inability to predict the risk for a given individual. In this paper, we focus on mechanisms underlying QT prolongation, risk factors for torsades de pointes and describe the short- and long-term treatment of acquired long QT syndrome.