Effect of vaginal delivery on the Q-Tc interval in a patient with the long Q-T (Romano-Ward) syndrome.

Twelve ECG leads were monitored continuously during peripartum in a 23-year-old Japanese woman diagnosed as having the long Q-T (Romano-Ward) syndrome. Corrected Q-T (Q-Tc) intervals determined by 2 investigators blinded from the clinical informations disclosed that the Q-Tc interval increased during labor, suggesting that physical and/or emotional stress during labor might cause prolonged Q-Tc intervals in women with the long QT syndrome.