Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome

Wolff- Parkinson- White syndrome is a heart defect in which the heart has an extra electrical pathway that causes a rapid heartbeat. Wolff- Parkinson- White syndrome is usually found in patients who has family members that has been diagnosed with this disease. Approximately one third of all Wolff- Parkinson- White syndrome patients will develop auricular fibrillation. Auricular fibrillation is a cardiac arrhythmia that is seen in patients with pathway problems in the heart.
Wolff- Parkinson- White syndrome can be diagnosed with a simple test called an echocardiogram or also known as an EKG. This test would show an irregular heartbeat and an increased heart rate called tachycardia. In a 2012 study of Wolff- Parkinson- White syndrome, 24 of