Incurable Heart Disease Could Prove Fatal to British Sisters

An incurable heart disease that could prove to be fatal has afflicted three sisters in Britain.

Chloe, Courtney and Melissa McAllister, aged 13, 12, and eight, suffer from Long QT Syndrome, a disease that can be hereditary, and affects about one in every 10,000 people.

Heart Attack - Overview
Heart attack is the death of the heart muscle due to loss of blood supply. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Other names for heart attack include acute myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis, and coronary occlusion.

The three girls were diagnosed with the disease, which causes irregular heartbeats and can lead to sudden death, after Courtney had a seizure at the age of five.

Doctors at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow had at first thought it was epilepsy but after an ECG test was conducted on her heart it showed she had Long QT Syndrome.

Tests were carried out on Chloe and Melissa and both were found to have the illness, which doctors believe they inherited from their mother Sharon, who died at the age of 23 in February 2002 when Melissa was just five weeks old.

Animation of heart attack symptoms
Heart attack can cause symptoms such as Chest pain or discomfort, Shortness of breath and pain in neck, back, arm, or shoulder and is due to blockage of blood supply to the heart muscles

"I was tested and I'm not a carrier of the condition, so it must have come from Sharon's side of the family," the Daily Mail quoted their father Stephen as saying.

"It was very distressing when they were all diagnosed. Melissa found it very hard to deal with, especially when the doctors told us that is what had caused their mother to die.

About Genetic Testing
Genetic testing helps to confirm a genetic condition in an individual and involves q complex laboratory techniques

"The attacks can happen when they are sleeping so I'm constantly getting up in the night to check on them," the stay-at-home father added.

Courtney had a heart monitor fitted in April this year as she is in a more serious phase of the condition, and the other two may also have to be fitted with one.

Long QT Syndrome Increases Risk of Sudden Death Due to Cardiac Arrhythmias
A new study from Brown University, Providence has revealed that individuals with long QT syndrome (LQTS) are at an increased risk of sudden death due to irregular heartbeats, also

The girls are on medication and have to be careful not to over-exert themselves as it could cause their hearts to go into a fatal spasm.

"Long QT is an inherited condition and for all three girls to have it is extremely unlucky. It's like a ticking time bomb," the Children's Heart Federation stated.

Source-ANI