Chris’s Story

When a child has an illness, the impact can often be felt throughout the family. Chris was four years old when his family traveled from Pennsylvania to our clinic in hopes of finding a diagnosis for the boy’s developmental delays.

Not long after their visit, Dr. Wang had a diagnosis, but not one that the family was expecting. Chris had tested positive for long QT syndrome, a leading and often undiagnosed cause of sudden cardiac arrest in children and young adults.

Many with long QT syndrome have no signs of a heart condition, and those that do have symptoms, such as fainting and seizures, often go misdiagnosed. But long QT syndrome can cause life-threatening irregular heart rhythms and most affected individuals remain unaware of their condition until it’s too late.

During Dr. Wang’s examination, Chris showed no symptoms of a cardiac disorder. It was only toward the end of the two-hour office visit that the family mentioned a suspected heart problem on the husband’s side of the family.

As a precaution, Chris’s entire family was tested for long QT syndrome, leading to what was very likely a life-saving diagnosis for Chris, his sister Kim, and their father. The good news for the family was that most cardiac arrhythmias caused by conditions like long QT syndrome are treatable.

All three affected family members began and continue to receive treatment to help maintain regular hear rhythms, giving the family peace of mind and providing them with a much improved quality of life.

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