What is Wolfe Parkinsons White Syndrom and how can it be helped?

Answer 1

(No copyright law was attached to this article)Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is a syndrome involving episodes of rapid heart rate (tachycardia) caused by abnormal electrical pathways (circuits) in the heart, which are often present from birth. It is also sometimes referred to in textbooks as preexcitation syndrome.

Normally, the electrical stimulus of the heart travels through the upper chambers of the heart (atria) and then through an area referred to as the atrioventricular (AV) node where it is delayed before continuing into the lower chambers or ventricles.

In Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, there is an 'accessory' atrioventricular conduction pathway. The extra pathway bypasses the normal conduction delay of the AV node and causes a rapid heart rate to be started in the upper chambers of the heart (a supraventricular tachycardia) called a re-entry tachycardia. The extra pathway in Wolff-Parkinson-White can often be located precisely.

Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome occurs in around four in 100,000 people, and is one of the most common causes of fast heart rate disorder in young children and adolescents. The person concerned may be totally unaware of the condition, or symptoms may include: palpitations (sensation of feeling heart beat), dizziness, light headedness or fainting. There may also be chest pain, tightness or breathlessness.

Examination during an episode of palpitation usually reveals a pulse rate of 150 per minute in the presence of a normal or low blood pressure. Investigations can include: ECG (electrocardiogram) and continuous ambulatory ECG monitoring in an attempt to demonstrate diagnostic findings.

Treatment aims to reduce episodes of fast heart rate and therefore symptoms. Your specialist will give you medications to control or prevent episodes of rapid heartbeat. Pacemakers especially designed to interrupt the re-entry cycle are sometimes used in the treatment of the condition.

In some cardiac centres, if the accessory pathway can be accurately identified through special 'electro-physiological' investigations, it may then be possible to destroy (ablate) the accessory pathway through open-heart surgery or procedures involving the passage of a catheter tube into the heart via a main blood vessel (catheter ablation). In this way it is possible under certain circumstances to provide a permanent cure for Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome.

You will understand from the above description, that when treatment is deemed necessary, the outcome varies tremendously from patient to patient depending on their response to medication and whether the accessory pathway can be located and ablated or not. In patients without any symptoms, it is generally agreed that further cardiac assessment should be made at a specialist centre, to ensure that they are not at any increased risk of developing significant symptoms in the future because of the nature of their ECG findings.