Symptoms
If a young person or a relative have had any of the following symptoms, further cardiac investigation may be necessary.
- Unusual fainting (syncope) episodes
- Palpitations associated with dizziness and shortness of breath
- Discomfort, pain or pressure in chest during exercise
- Diagnosed with unexplained seizure disorder
- Died during or shortly after vigorous exercise
- Drowned but was a good swimmer
- Died in an inexplicable car accident but was a good driver
- Died in his sleep
- Died when the phone rang or the alarm clock went off
- Died of “natural causes” or what was called a heart attack, when the only symptoms he/she ever had was an occasional fainting spell
- Was said to have died of asthma or epilepsy
Fainting (Syncope)
Although most people faint at some stage during their life and are of little consequence, a fainting episode could be the first sign of a potentially serious heart condition in a person who would normally be considered to be fit and healthy.
It may occur when the heart has an episode of irregular, slow or rapid heart beats (Arrhtyhmia) which will disrupt the pumping of blood to the brain and cause the fainting.
You may experience dizziness, light headedness, alterations in or loss of vision and sometimes extreme ringing in the ears or loss of hearing before loss of consciousness. Loss of muscle control will cause you to fall to the ground or slump if seated. There may be other symptoms such as, sweating and nausea. Jerks and spasms may occur and may look similar to an epileptic seizure but these movements are not associated with epilepsy.
The following unusual fainting episodes may indicate the possibility of having a heart condition:
- Fainting is usually sudden and without warning
- Fainting may occur during or shortly after exercise and is accompanied by gasping or absence of breath..
- Fainting with emotional stress or extreme anger
- Fainting with sudden noise or arousal from rest or sleep.
- Fainting or appearance of seizing during sleep.
- Loss of consciousness can last from one to several minutes; in some cases resuscitation may be required
Palpitations even with dizziness and shortness of breath is may be harmless, but occasionally it is a sign of an underlying problem that should be investigated
Discomfort, pain or pressure in chest during exercise
Chest pain, also pain associated with harmless conditions, is common. A person steeped in evaluating chest pain should be consulted
Diagnosed with unexplained seizure disorder
Fainting spells may be mislabeled as epilepsy
Died during or shortly after vigorous exercise
There appears to be an association between sport and many causes of sudden cardiac death. Exercise may trigger off an arrhythmic cardiac event in individuals who have a cardiac condition which makes them prone to sudden death. This event can occur whether they exercise or not, but is often more likely to occur or occurs earlier when the heart is working harder or exposed to more catecholamine such as during competitive sport activities. It is advisable to screen young people who participate in competitive sports in survivors of a sudden death event or family members of sudden death victims.
Drowned but was a good swimmer
In South Africa all the congenital LQTS has been of the LQT1 variety and swimming is the most frequent form of exercise that triggers events. Many cases have been incorrectly treated for epilepsy before the correct diagnosis was made.
Died in an inexplicable car accident but was a good driver
A fainting episode could have caused the driver to lose control over his vehicle.
Died in his sleep
Died when the phone rang or the alarm clock went off
Died of “natural causes” or what was called a heart attack, when the only symptoms have ever been an Occasional fainting spell
Was said to have died of asthma or epilepsy
Seizures have been misdiagnosed as epileptic instead of from a heart condition.