WPW and a defibrillator

  My wife has been diagnosed with WPW.  Should when should we consider having a defibrillator inplanted?

[CCF CARDIO MD DLB]

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Dear Dave
Your wife should see a cardiac electrophysiologist for a detailed evaluation. Depending on the specifics, he may opt to do an electrophysiological study (similar to a cardiac catheterization). Potentially, the abnormal WPW pathway in the heart could be eliminated in a procedure called an ablation at the time of the electrophysiological study. There is no reason to jump to a defibrillator at this point.
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.