Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) is a congenital cardiac condition that can causecardiac arrhythmias.
In addition, sometimes people with WPW can have other, more dangerous types of cardiac arrhythmias.
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What Is WPW?
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These abnormal electrical connections are calledaccessory pathways.
The accessory pathways create the electrical conditions in which abnormal cardiac rhythms can occur.
This abnormal circuit allows unusual heart rhythms, or arrythmias, to develop.
AVRT is a key in of reentrant tachycardia.
The electrical impulse can then spin around the circuit continuously, creating the arrhythmia.
How Is WPW Different From Typical AVRT?
This is the opposite direction of travel than in patients with typical AVRT.
(Normally, the AV node protects the ventricles from being stimulated too rapidly during atrial fibrillation.
This protection is lost if the ventricles are being stimulated via the accessory pathway.)
So in patients with WPW, atrial fibrillation can become a life-threatening problem.
They include palpitations, lightheadedness or dizziness, and extreme fatigue.
Episodes usually last from a few minutes to several hours.
For some people who have only rare episodes of SVT, this treatment may be sufficient.
Ablation therapy is almost always the best option in somebody with WPW who has had arrhythmias.
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