Wolff-Parkinson-White AND Marfan -??????

Posted by Lori on May 22, 1999 at 23:44:24
My daughter was diagnosed with WPW at three weeks with SVT and MVP. No documentation of SVT since. She is on a beta blocker for periodic pain from MVP. She is now eleven years old. Now her cardiologist is questioning Marfan's being involved even though no "problem with echocardiogram of heart and no eye problems". She does have flat feet and is tall (two inches over normal kids her age), her back seems to bow in between shoulder blades, is very thin, 75 pounds (7 pounds "underweight"). Could she possibly have two syndromes at the same time? The cardiologist will let us know if her echos show any abnormalties, they don't at this time. Her eyes were tested by a neurologist and opthamologist also, and show no abnormalties. She plays volleyball and has permission to continue at this time from her cardiologist. What do you think of all of this?

Posted by CCF CARDIO MD - MTR on May 23, 1999 at 12:39:40

Dear Lori, thank you for your question.  Since your daughter had a normal eye examination and has no evidence of cardiac disease on her echocardiogram, I doubt that she has Marfan's Syndrome.  However, there are specific diagnostic criteria for Marfan's Syndrome that need to be considered to rule out this disorder.  You should speak to her pediatricians'  regarding this issue to ensure that all criteria have been looked into.  I don't know of a specific association with SVT and Marfan's syndrome, so I think the first step would be to definitely rule out Marfan's Syndrome.  Until that is done to your satisfaction, the safest thing to do would be to restrict your daughter from any strenuous activities.
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