A lady with Romano-Ward syndrome. Long QT interval The QT interval normally varies with heart rate - becoming shorter at faster rates. It is usually corrected using the cycle length (R-R interval) as shown opposite. normal QTc = 0.42 seconds Romano-Ward syndrome is an autosomal dominantly inherited form of long QT interval and there is a risk of recurrent ventricular tachycardia, particularly Torsade de Pointes. Ventricular premature beats (VPBs) 2 ventricular premature beats are also shown in this ECG They are broad occur earlier than normal and are followed by a full compensatory pause (the distance between the normal beats before and after the VPB is equal to twice the normal cycle length). with permision from the site of Dr. Dean Jenkins