Diagnosis and cure of the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome or paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardias during a single electrophysiological test

Article Abstract:

The wall of the heart consists primarily of strong muscle which is highly resistant to fatigue. The heart wall also contains electrical pathways; the transmission of electrical signals down these electrical pathways regulates the normal heart beat as well as ensuring that all the individual muscle cells contract with the appropriate timing and synchrony. However, some people are born with an anomalous pathway in addition to the normal one. These so-called ''accessory'' pathways may follow several different anatomical paths, not all of which are fully known. These pathways may provide a route for electrical stimulation to circle back and prematurely start another round of muscle contraction, causing a condition of rapid heart beating called supraventricular tachycardia. This condition varies in detail depending upon the precise structure of the accessory pathway; one of the more common varieties of supraventricular tachycardia is called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. In principle, the condition is easy to correct; simply inhibit the accessory pathway with drugs, or, if that does not work, surgically destroy it using electrical current. However, the destruction of tissue within the heart is fraught with technical difficulties and the danger of serious complications. Research has now shown that a rapid method may be used to diagnose and cure this condition in a single procedure. Supraventricular tachycardia may occur as the result of a number of different causes, and the precise diagnosis can only be made by electrophysiological testing. To diagnose 106 patients with supraventricular tachycardia, catheters containing electrodes were inserted into an artery in the leg and carefully guided to the heart. Electrical recordings then established the precise diagnosis, which was Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome in 40 cases. Immediately after the diagnosis was made, radiofrequency current was applied to the accessory pathway in 102 of the 106 patients. This radiofrequency current destroyed the accessory pathways in 37 of 40 patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and in 57 of 62 of the patients who had been diagnosed with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. Only two complications were experienced, and there were no fatalities. The entire procedure of diagnosis and treatment lasted an average of 114 minutes. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Diagnosis, Surgery, Tachycardia, Supraventricular tachycardia, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

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Radio-frequency ablation as treatment for cardiac arrhythmias

Article Abstract:

Radio-frequency ablation can be used to treat heart arrhythmias and may be more cost-effective than life-long drug treatment. During this procedure, several electrode catheters are threaded through the leg veins up to the heart. The electrodes then deliver a radio-frequency current that heats and destroys the abnormal tissue causing the arrhythmia. It can be used to treat supraventricular tachycardia, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, and ventricular tachycardia. It can be performed in an outpatient setting. The cost ranges from $10,000 to $12,000, but this is still less than the costs of treating arrhythmias that do not respond to drugs.

Health aspects, Care and treatment, Analysis, Ablation (Surgery), Radio waves

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Premature ventricular depolarizations during exercise

Article Abstract:

More research is needed to confirm the link between premature ventricular depolarizations that occur during exercise testing and mortality from heart disease. Premature ventricular depolarizations are a type of heart arrhythmia and a study showed that men who developed this arrhythmia during exercise testing had a greater risk of dying from heart disease in the future.

United States, Editorial, Cardiovascular diseases, Causes of, Physiological aspects, Prognosis, Exercise tests

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