DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My precious daughter passed away at the age of 14 from a cardiac arrest due to the long QT syndrome. She was misdiagnosed as having a seizure disorder at age 5. She had an arrest at 8 years of age, and they still informed us that it was seizures. The last time it happened, she was taken by ambulance to the hospital and was diagnosed with this syndrome. Brain damage had been done. She was brought home with a trach and a feeding tube. Three years later she went home to Heaven. I would like to get across to people that they ought to be very aggressive with stubborn doctors when symptoms don’t add up and demand further tests, like a simple ECG. – M.B.

ANSWER: The long QT syndrome is a heart condition that can be present from birth. Symptoms often do not appear until the child is older, and then they are frequently misdiagnosed. Fainting, for instance, is often the diagnosis given when a child passes out, but this syndrome involves much more than a simple faint. Seizure is another common misdiagnosis, as was the case with your daughter.

An ECG, a simple test, can provide the evidence for this problem.

With the long QT syndrome, the heart develops such an abnormal beat that it cannot deliver blood to the brain and body. Unless a normal beat is quickly restored, death follows. When the syndrome is recognized for what it really is, the situation can be corrected with medicines that suppress the abnormal heart rhythms and the resulting complete stoppage of blood pumping. Sometimes a pacemaker or an implanted defibrillator is the treatment of choice.

At times, the long QT syndrome comes on later in life. Then, it is not present from birth. Certain drugs can be responsible for it. This acquired QT syndrome is also treatable.

What can I say about the loss of your daughter? I have no words that will comfort you.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am a senior citizen, and I have recently been diagnosed as having a meningioma, a brain tumor. What can you tell me about it? – C.

ANSWER: A meningioma is a tumor that arises from the brain’s covering tissues, the meninges. Often it is a slowly growing tumor. Rarely does it spread to distant places, so it earns the title of benign.

Small meningiomas can be followed at intervals to see if they are growing.

Large tumors that press on the brain can cause symptoms. Those tumors are surgically removed. If the tumor happens to be at a location in the skull where access is impossible, radiation can treat it.

Only a small number of meningiomas are malignant – meaning they spread to other organs and sites (they metastasize). Those tumors, of course, must be treated immediately. They constitute only about 5 percent of meningiomas.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am at a stage of frustration. I have to constantly blow my nose when I eat. I do not have a cold or any symptom of a cold. It is very embarrassing, and I ask for your advice as to why this condition exists and what can be done for it. – D.P.

ANSWER: You wouldn’t believe me if I told you how many times this question is asked. It occurs almost daily in the mail.

It is called gustatory rhinorrhea. An antihistamine taken before eating can sometimes put a stop to it. Chlorpheniramine, Benadryl and Tavist are three over-the-counter antihistamines. Experiment with them first at home. They can make you drowsy. Astelin Nasal Spray and Atrovent Nasal Spray are prescription items that might turn off the nasal faucet and won’t make you drowsy.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

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