WPW syndrome and diet pills

I was born with WPW Syndrome (Wolf Parkison White Syndrome).  I never had any symptoms of this condition until I was in my middle 20's & pregnant with my 4th child.  I had the symptoms of tachycardia (fast heartbeat, dizziness, sweaty, and feeling faint.)  I had a heart ablation performed in 2004.  The surgery was successful anmd I haven't had a problem since.  I am now 32 years old, I have 5 children.  I would like to take the diet pill Phentermine by itself to lose about 25 pounds.  Would this be a problem being I no longer have WPW syndrome?  I only want to take this pill for 4-6 weeks.  Thank you.

Michelle

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

There are two questions there.  The first -  will phentermine affect a cured accessory pathway (WPW) -- no, it will not.  If it is gone, you will not have tachycardia from it.

The second implied question is about phentermine.  That is a medication of last resort and one that I do not typically comment on or recommend.    You will have to talk to your doctor about that one but I would not recommend it to a family member.

I hope that helps.