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Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Syndrome

By

The Manual's Editorial Staff

Reviewed/Revised Jul 2022 | Modified Sep 2022
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Your heart is a muscle that pumps blood through your body. Your heart rate is how fast your heart beats. Your heart should always have a regular, rhythmic beat, like the ticking of a clock.

Your heart has four chambers. The atria are the two upper chambers in your heart. The ventricles are the two lower chambers in your heart. The atria pump blood to the ventricles. The ventricles pump blood to your lungs and your body (see also Biology of the Heart Biology of the Heart The heart is a hollow organ made of muscle. The heart and blood vessels are part of your cardiovascular system. Your heart pumps blood through your blood vessels Blood carries oxygen and nutrients... read more ).

Special pacemaker cells in a part of the atria called the SA node (sinoatrial node) send out regular electrical signals to your heart muscle to make it contract.

The Conduction System
VIDEO

Your heart's conduction system has tiny strips of tissue sort of like electrical wires. The conduction system carries the pacemaker signals to the rest of your heart. The signals must get to all your heart muscle cells at just the right time so your heart gives a good, strong beat that pumps blood properly.

What is Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome?

What are the symptoms of WPW syndrome?

Symptoms usually start in your teens or early 20s, but they can start at any age.

In babies, symptoms may include:

  • Breathing problems

  • Acting overly tired

  • Not eating well

In teens and adults, symptoms may include:

  • Feeling your heart racing

  • Sometimes fainting

  • Sometimes chest pain

How can doctors tell if I have WPW syndrome?

Doctors feel your pulse and do:

An ECG is a quick, painless test that measures your heart’s electrical activity using stickers and cables on your chest, arms, and legs.

How do doctors treat WPW syndrome?

To slow your heart rate, your doctor may ask you to try one of the following:

  • Strain as if having trouble passing stool

  • Rub your neck just below the angle of your jaw

  • Plunge your face into a bowl of ice-cold water

If these don't work or you're having severe symptoms, doctors will:

  • Give you medicine directly into your vein (IV medicine)

If you keep having episodes of rapid heart rate from WPW, doctors may recommend:

  • An ablation procedure

What's an ablation procedure?

Doctors first do electrophysiologic testing, which is like cardiac catheterization Cardiac Catheterization Cardiac catheterization (also called cardiac cath) is a heart procedure done in a hospital. The doctor puts a thin plastic tube (catheter) through an artery and into your heart. Doctors get... read more Cardiac Catheterization . Doctors insert a thin flexible tube (catheter) into a large blood vessel (for example, in your leg) and thread it up to your heart. The catheter has electrodes on its tip that record your heart's electrical activity from the inside. The catheter can also stimulate your heart electrically to see how it responds.

If the test shows that one small bit of heart tissue is causing the WPW, getting rid of the tissue often fixes the rhythm problem. Doctors use a catheter that delivers a high-frequency electrical current to destroy the tissue that's causing the problem.

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