Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome Research Papers

Wolff- Parkinson-White Syndrome (also known as WPW or arrhythmias) is when a person is born with an extra electrical pathway in the heart that causes a rapid heartbeat. WPW is a chronic disorder, and can last years, or be life long. This syndrome is a genetic disorder and is found at birth. (Usually inherited from a parent) WPW is not a life threatening disorder, but it can lead to heart problems that can cause death later in life. Everyone including infants can experience symptoms from WPW, but the symptoms first appear often in people’s teens or twenties. Some of these symptoms may include, sensation of rapid or constant heartbeat, dizziness or lightheadedness, shortness of breath, fatigue, and anxiety. More serious cases may occur as well, this happens to about ten to thirty percent of people that have WPW. These …show more content…
The rhythm of your heart is normally controlled by a mass of tissue in the right atrium (sinus node). The sinus node produces electrical impulses that generate each heartbeat. These electrical impulses travel across the atria, causing muscle contractions that pump blood into the ventricles. The electrical impulses then arrive at a cluster of cells called the atrioventricular (AV) node, usually the only pathway for signals to travel from the atria to the ventricles. The AV node slows the electrical signal before sending it to the ventricles. This slight delay allows the ventricles to fill with blood. When electrical impulses reach the ventricles, muscle contractions pump blood to the lungs and the rest of the body. Louis Wolff, Sir John Parkinson and Paul Dudley White, who discovered the phenomenon that later would be called the WPW syndrome. The upstroke of the QRS-complex is 'slurred', resulting in a delta-wave (arrow). Conduction through the accessory pathway results in a delta wave. WPW affects between .01%- .03% of the population per year.