| Author | Message | ||
     Erika Username: Erika Registered: 11-2006 |
Last Tuesday Oct. 24 2006 we were team roping at our house with some friends. One of our friends was a 19 year old boy who had just started riding horses, it was his turn to catch the steer and he did and the other person caught the steer’s feet and that made it a good clean run. The 19 year old boy told the other guy he was very excited and his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. They walked the horses back to the front of the pen and the young boy passed out and feel off his horse. He jumped right back up and said he just passed out and he was sorry for scaring everyone, he got back on his horse and was sitting there and he just slowly sloped over the horse and passed out again. This time when they pulled him off his horse he did not come back too. He was in full cardiac arrest. We started cpr and called 911, the emts arrived and shocked him twice, we could never bring him back, we worked on him for over a hour. I am having a very hard time dealing with this because he was a close friend and I preformed the cpr. They have done an autopsy on him and said they could not find any real finding, but, think it is a hereditary heart condition and is sending off some blood for more test. One person said that the young man had told them he had almost passed out early that week, I have been searching the web the last 5 days to try and find out answers and the long qt syndrome fits this young man, but, we will not know until the test results come back. I just want answers so his family and friends can find some piece about this. Thanks for listening. | ||
| Stubborn Username: Stubborn Registered: 08-2006 |
What a horribly sad story, Erika. I'm so sorry. There are no answers that make a story like that anything other than terribly, terribly sad. Yes, Long QT matches what you describe, but even if it's not the ultimate cause, something like it is, and in any case, the tragedy is no less. Bottom line, you could not have saved him; that's what's so horrible about this condition. We need the defibrillation so quickly, and we usually have no warning that some time we might need defibrillation, much less right before we need it. It's why us strongly symptomatic ones who are lucky enough to survive discovering we're strongly symptomatic get the devices implanted. Again, I'm so sorry to hear your story, and I wish you and his family and other friends may one day find some peace. I suggest one place to start finding that peace is to remember that he was having a very happy and joyful experience when he went, and that is a rite of passage we all can only hope for. | ||
| Debbie Username: Debbie Registered: 11-2006 |
I to am sorry I hate hearing story's like that. Thats why I believe that hosptials should start checking these newborns for long QT before they are released from the hosptial. Also when you go to the doctor when you have to fill out your family history long Qt should be included in the questioner.It could save a life. Eric there is a website called groww that helps people with there loss. It helped me when I lost my 22 year old niece 4 years ago | ||
| Nancy Username: Nancy Registered: 11-2006 |
hi im nancy and im new here.my son died feb 2005, his wife found him dead in the bed when she got home from work. a nurse who lived next door tried to revive him but to no avail. the paramedics said he had been gone to long. of course nothing showed up on the atopsy report. they just said cardiac arithmia. im asuming it was long qt. | ||
| Bionic Roadrunner Username: Bionic_roadrunner Registered: 08-2006 |
I am very sorry about your loss, Nancy. If you have not done so yet, you, your husband and your other children, if you have any, should be checked as well as your son's children if he had any. My very best wishes to you and your family. PS. It could have been LQTS but there are also other causes for sudden cardiac death. | ||
| Erika Username: Erika Registered: 11-2006 |
Thank you all for the kind words, I just found out that my friends atopsy test come back and they are saying it was a cardiac arithmia, not many people in this small town have ever heard of lqts, I have not run into one person that has said yes, I know what lqts is. This is kinda scary no one knows. I am trying to put the word out about it. This is a very serious condition and you would be amazed that hardly no one has ever heard of it. | ||
| Debbie Username: Debbie Registered: 11-2006 |
Erika it is scary that most people have never heard about it.Especially people in the medical field I had gone to a doctor when I had broncitis and showed her the list of drugs that I couldn't take she still tried to give me albuterol luckly I knew that I couldn't take it. She didn't know about long Qt and didn't seem to want to learn anything about it. Luckly I found a doctor that is willing to learn everything there is and works with my cardio doctor. My sister and I try to get the word out also. We had never heard of long Qt until her daughter died 4 years ago. | ||
| Bionic Roadrunner Username: Bionic_roadrunner Registered: 08-2006 |
Erika, if there is the slightest chance that the arrhythmia might have been caused by LQTS, your friend's family should have an EKG to see if their heart is normal. LQTS is not a death sentence if treated in time. Most people respond to beta blocker therapy. In the case of LQTS, prevention is key to a healthy and long life. Take care and a peaceful holiday to you. | ||
| Erika Username: Erika Registered: 11-2006 |
I know how important it is for his famliy to get checked for this, but, his dad died at age 40 something with a heartattack and his grandpa was found dead at at a yearly age for a unknown cause, and my friend that just lost his life was the only child. I think in this case it is a little to late too check . Only if the doctors would have notice his famliy history, his life might have been spared. I just think that lqts is not taken seriously enough or we are just not educated enough. I wish we could find a way to get the word out about this silent killer. I do not understand why the American heart Asst. does not try to spread the word about lqts. I am surprized Oprha has not had a story about lqts. | ||
| Bionic Roadrunner Username: Bionic_roadrunner Registered: 08-2006 |
Erika, if you wish to do volunteer work to raise awareness about LQTS, you could contact www.sads.org. They have brochures that can be distributed to school nurses and coaches and PTA meetings. Over the years, a few TV shows have talked about LQTS. Last year, Dr Michael Ackerman, an LQTS expert from Rochester Minnesota, appeared on Dateline NBC I believe. The program generated quite a few questions on this very forum. As for Oprah, she has been contacted several times but never responded...She must receive thousands of emails a day and most of them undoubtedly go into oblivion... It will probably take some very famous personality to be diagnosed with it for the word to get out there and for the media to explode with all sorts of reports about LQTS. Take care. | ||
| Debbie Username: Debbie Registered: 11-2006 |
I to have tried to get in touch with Oprah maybe a bunch of us on this message board pick a day and all e-mail her on this at the same time. I've been trying Rachael Ray now also. It is sad if it has to be a famous personality to get there attention that was the case on the montel williams show. |