Scientists identify core factors that may put Long QT patients at higher risk of sudden cardiac death

The researchers found that heart inflammation and elevated blood sodium levels together elevate the risk of dangerous arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in guinea pigs with faulty intercellular sodium channels – a condition modeling a form of the Long QT syndrome. Less than 1 percent of the population has been diagnosed with Long QT syndrome – a rare heart condition that can cause chaotic, sometimes fatal, heart rhythms.