Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Conduction system of the heart

Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Definition:

Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome involves episodes of rapid heart rate (tachycardia ) and baseline abnormal ECG caused by abnormal electrical pathways (circuits) in the heart.

Alternative Names:
Preexcitation syndrome; WPW
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Normally, electrical signals in the heart gothrough the atrioventricular (AV) node, thepathway connecting the two top chambers of the heart (atria) to the two bottom chambers (ventricles).

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In people with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, there is an extra, or accessory, AV pathway. Thisleads to"re-entry supraventricular tachycardia," a rapid heart rate initiated above the ventricles.

The location of the extra electrical pathway in Wolff-Parkinson-White can often be precisely identified.Wolff-Parkinson-White occursis one of the most common causes of fast heart rate disorders (tachyarrhymthmias) in infants and children.

How often therapid heart rate occurs depends on the patient. Some people with Wolff-Parkinson-White may have just a fewepisodes of rapid heart rate, others may experience the rapid heart rate once or twice a week. In some cases, the patienthasno symptoms. In thiscase, theextra pathwayis often found when adoctor has requested an ECG for some other purpose.