lightheadedness & wpw syndrome

[Joe-Chura]

     I am 21 and 6 months ago I felt like I was going to pass out at one of my softball games.  I had no symptoms prior to this.  I was always a very healthy energetic man.  After the softball episode I felt fine for about 4 months.  In the last two months I have been constantly lightheaded, sometimes confused and dizzy and every once in a while I would develop a severe chest pain and head pain almost like I was having a heart attack or seisure(but fortunatly I do not know what those feel like).  After ruling out vertigo my doctor said it was probably anxiety because I work 40+ hrs. a week, attend school, and have a child. So he put me on xanax and proxil. This just made things worse.  So I went back and demanded some more testing. I always thought a good doctor should rule out possibilities before prescribing medication.  After a urinalysis, glucose, an EKG test I was said to have WPW syndrome. My question is should I have the recommened EP study and ablation done or should I stay on lopressor?  Also I feel that the constant lightheadedness could be attributed to something neurological.  I was in a car accident when I was 18 and my head went thru the windshield and when I was 20 I woke up in the hospital after a snow boarding accident-concussion.  Even though after a CT scan my brain and head looked fine could those accidents make me lightheaded now ? Also I told my cardiologist that I want a glucose-tolerant test but she insists that my sugar was fine. Is a glucose tolerant test different from a diabetes test? I ask because both diabetes and hypoglycemia run in my family. Do you think an MRI is necessarry because my doctors obviously dont? Also does an EEG and MRI show the same things? Please help me. I'm begining to lose my faith in doctors !!!

[CCF CARDIO MD APS]

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Dear Joe,
YOU NEED THE EP EVALUATION AND STUDY, FIRST AND FOREMOST AS THIS IS THE ONLY POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATENING THING YOU MIGHT HAVE.  An EP study and ablation is absolutely indicated in any patient with WPW who has the symptoms that you have-they are true warning signs, please head them.  It is possible although unlikely that your symptoms are from low blood sugar, but the story doesn't really sound so and one should never assume that is the more likely diagnosis based solely on what "runs in the family."
A glucose tolerance test is a test for diabetes
Every physician should consider life-threatening diagnosis at least before prescribing medications or figuring it to be anxiety related- I agree with you there.
An MRI might be indicated in the future (i.e. if you do not have WPW) however at this juncture it certainly is not the next step in your evaluation.
An EEG and an MRI are two totally different tests, one studies electrical impulses or brain waves, the other the structure of the brain (respectively.)
I hope this information is useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for
general purposes only.  Only your physician can provided specific diagnoses and therapies.
Feel free to write back with further questions. Good luck!
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cardiac problem.