Question Title: (P)SVT treatment

I was diagnosed with WPW at age 18 after continuous SVT bouts. My GP
immediately placed me on Digoxin. After several tests (Holter, event, EKG,
etc), he recommended to continue the Digoxin. The treatment regulated my
beats, but at age 24, I had 3 serious episodes in which I almost blacked
out. In the hospital, the card. diagnosed me with PSVT and added Atenolol
(50 mg) to my Dig use.
I am now 29 and still using both meds and my episodes are few and far
between. I recently asked my (new) doctor about ablation therapy and he
said "this is not necessary right now" and to continue the med cocktail.
My questions are:
Is node ablation used only for 'certain' circumstances?
Is it conceivable to be on these meds forever?
Is it true that these types of conditions are normally found in young
females?
And finally, I heard a rumour that Atenolol causes certain types of
alopecia....is this true?
Thanks for your time!

Dear Bill

I think ablation of the arrhythmia is a reasonable consideration in your case, based on what you have written. You ought to see a cardiac electrophysiologist to see if you are a candidate for the procedure.

I have had patients taking those sort of medications for decades.

These conditions are more common in women, but also found in men.

I am not aware of atenolol causing alopecia, but any drug can potentially cause any side effect.

I hope this has been useful. I wish you the best of luck.

If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.

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