SADS Foundation :: Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes Foundation

Hi. My mother-in-law has been admitted into the hospital a few days ago. She has been diagnosed with Long QT and has been taking medications prescribed by her doctor that is on the list of medications to be avoided. The medication in question is called Amitryptiline and Cymbalta. She is know having memory problems and has been admitted into a psych ward. I need to know a little bit more about this drug as being related to this disease. Can anyone help me out. The doctors in the psych ward are not giving us any information and I need to find out if this can be from that. She is currently seeing people who are not there, she sometimes does not know who she is, she didn't even remember her son. They have taken her off of everything but the heart medication and has now put her on Haldol, which they did not give us any information on this as well but I noticed that this is also on the list. Basically I just need some information.

Medications on the list of drugs to avoid can prolong your QT interval--as you know. I'm not quite sure what you're asking but the risk of these medications is that your mother may have an event due to her LQTS when taking medications on the list.

However, the list is in 4 sections, with those meds in sections 3 & 4 being the least likely to cause events. If your mother needs medications that are on the list she should be very carefully followed by her electrophysiologist.

As far as the symptoms you describe, these sound like they have nothing to do with LQTS.