WPW and heart failure

I have WPW diagnosed ten years ago. I have minimal symptoms- occasional palpitations. It is untreated as I was advised that an ablation would likely lead to me requiring a pacemaker due to the location of the secondary pacemaker. During my second pregnancy I had an echocardiogram and was told that it showed low wjection fraction of 44% is this the same as heart failure and if my arrythymia is treated would this fix the heart failure?

[cindy707]

A normal EF in people w. no heart issues is 50 - 65 % so you really aren't that far out of the norm here....i am a little confused here tho in your posting.....when you said that an ablation would require a pacemaker due to the location of the secondary pacemaker....i am thinking that you are talking about an ablation being done for you and the problem area may be too close to the sinus/AV node and if it is accidently zapped it would indeed require a pacemaker since it is the brain of the heart and if zapped it shorts out and then you would require the assistance of a pacemaker.  The only true way to know if this would be the case would be an EP study when they would set of the arrythmias to pinpoint the location.  As far as the EF and the lower EF goes...again it would depend on the location of the problem areas and how your heart would be reacting to the blood flow properly being distributed thru your body once the correction is made.  I think only your doctor can answer that one.  It is  not uncommon for people w. WPW to not have symtoms (symptoms) until very late in life...as w. mitral valve prolapse.....i would pose these questions to your doc but to me living w/out arrythmias is a wonderful thing...you would just want to make sure that whomever does the ablation has done more than 1500 of them and i would ask that same doc how many times they have hit the sinus/AV node...if they say none i would say go for it as long as the odds are in your favor...good luck

[is_something_wrong]

I was a bit confused too.

WPW indicates an extra pathway, and not a secondary pacemaker. Ablation of another pacemaker doesn't cure WPW, it cures paroxysmal ectopic atrial tachycardia.

Regarding LVEF: It's just one important factor out of three. What matters is total cardiac output. It's calculated: Heart volume x EF x heart rate.

People with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy / LV hypertrophy can have amazingly high EF, but low cardiac output because the pumping chamber volume is low (due to thick walls). Some people can have low EF but plenty of space. In some people, both are low, and the heart compensates with increasing heart rate. This is not good.

I think you should ask your doctor for more information. The EF itself isn't the best measurement, and as Cindy said, your EF is close to normal. I have an EF of 57% I think, and I'm in better condition than a friend of mine with EF 69%.

[lowejection]

Thanks ! yes I did mean secondary pathway not pacemaker (must engage my brain before typing). Thanks Cindy- The doctor who said i would prob need a pacemaker if i went ahead with ablation told me this after an EP study.

Yes i definately need more info, its very confusing since my GP who started me on Ace inhibitors said i had heart failure but it sounds from replies that this may not be correct. I just wish the Cardiologist had explained his views to me rather than asking me to see the GP for medication