Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Alternative names:

preexcitation syndrome; WPW

Definition:

A syndrome involving episodes of rapid heart rate (tachycardia) caused by abnormal electrical pathways (circuits) in the heart.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Normally, the electrical stimulus of the heart travels through the atria and then through the atrioventricular (AV) node where it is delayed before continuing into the ventricles.

Wolff-Parkinson-White is a form of tachycardia (rapid heart rate) where there is an "accessory" atrioventricular conduction pathway. The extra pathway bypasses the normal conduction delay of the AV node and causes a form of supraventricular tachycardia (rapid heart rate that is initiated above the ventricles) called reentry. The extra pathway in Wolff-Parkinson-White can often be located precisely.

Wolff-Parkinson-White occurs in approximately 4 out of 100,000 people, and is one of the most common causes of tachy-arrhythmia (fast heart rate disorder) in infants and children.