Heather’s LQTS Story

In February 2018, Heather, the Curriculum

Director of her local school district, was chatting with colleagues in the conference

room. All of a sudden, she felt the room

begin to spin, and attempted to leave for the restroom. She managed only two steps towards the door before her heart stopped, and she dropped lifeless to the floor.

Fortunately, Heather’s co-workers had received Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automatic External Defibrillator (CPR/AED) training the month prior, and were able to perform CPR for more than 12 minutes. Employing an AED, they delivered three shocks before Emergency Medical Services transported her to the nearest hospital where she was put into an induced coma.

“My life and my brain function were saved because my coworkers had started CPR within the first 3-5 minutes of my collapse.”

When it happens outside of a hospital setting, sudden cardiac arrest kills about 90% of its victims.

Following her cardiac arrest, Heather was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome. However, after a year, her QT interval normalized and the diagnosis was dropped. It was determined that a prescription medication, that she had been taking for chronic migraines, depleted her potassium to critically low levels causing a prolonged QT interval that compromised her heart function. While Heather is not considered to have congenital Long QT Syndrome (cLQTS), she is treated as a patient with drug induced Long QT Syndrome (di-LQTS) due to the potential impact of both prescription and over-the-counter medications on her QT interval.

“Through sharing my story, I hope that others will not only become CPR/AED trained, but that they will come to be aware of the risks associated with many over the counter and prescription medications. Many people are not aware of how many commonly used drugs can impact the heart.”

Heather’s proclivity to an elongated QT interval deemed her recent pregnancy high risk. Her baby therefore had the opportunity to take part in a fetal study to determine whether he had Long QT syndrome. He was born in December 2022 and despite having a congenital heart defect, was determined not to have LQTS.

“My passion is teaching others about the risks of sudden cardiac arrest and the importance of CPR/AED training. I volunteer my time as a CPR/AED instructor and have trained over 3,000 people. After my sudden cardiac arrest, I have truly learned to appreciate that every single day is a gift, as we never know what could change in the blink of an eye.”

Drug Induced Long QT Syndrome affects approximately 6 million patients in the United States. Thryv Therapeutics are developing a potent Serum and Glucocorticoid Kinase 1 (SGK1) inhibitor, LQT-1213. Their aim is to allow patients to continue to access the medications they need to treat life-threatening conditions, without fear of acquired, or drug-induced Long QT Syndrome.

To learn more about Long QT Syndrome, visit The SADS Foundation’s organization’s website at: www.sads.org. 

Author: David Hutton.