Aa
Wow new diagnosis questions..
I'm 39( just turned) and was diagnosed with wpw during my second c-section which was planned. The anesthesiologist noticed the abnormal heart rate which led to the diagnosis. Just this last week I met with the specialist the hospital referred me to, but feel like I got no answers about this. I was basically told I should do the ablation that beta blockers were probably not compatible with breastfeeding (baby is only 2 months) but then he followed that with I could wait to do the surgery until my baby is older...
Is it odd he went directly to surgery? I get that it is the "permanent fix, but with two young kids at home I'm not excited about rushing into heart surgery. He told me there are two kinds the one I have electricity runs down the heart which gives me a small risk of dying.....I'm so confused about it all! He did an EKG in office. Are there other tests I should ask about? Options? My symptoms are minimal. It was only in the last year I had random heart palpitations. May once a month. I've had a lot of dizzy spells lately, that's all
Also is it logical that symptoms would increase with lack of sleep? Thanks fir any advice. This was so unexpected and tho has explained a lot over the course of my life it has also left me quite freaked out as well!
Is it odd he went directly to surgery? I get that it is the "permanent fix, but with two young kids at home I'm not excited about rushing into heart surgery. He told me there are two kinds the one I have electricity runs down the heart which gives me a small risk of dying.....I'm so confused about it all! He did an EKG in office. Are there other tests I should ask about? Options? My symptoms are minimal. It was only in the last year I had random heart palpitations. May once a month. I've had a lot of dizzy spells lately, that's all
Also is it logical that symptoms would increase with lack of sleep? Thanks fir any advice. This was so unexpected and tho has explained a lot over the course of my life it has also left me quite freaked out as well!
Def. something to consider is age. And very good to know about no lifting for a couple weeks! That would be impossible right now to accomplish without my husband taking two weeks off as well! I was thinking short term future...3 years from now when kids are 3 and 6. Thanks again for all the info! I have an app. In feb with another specialist. It was the earliest he could see me, but they advised me he is very generous with his time and to expect itto be about 2 hours. He also focuses on women during and after pregnancy. So he should be a good fit for me.
If you went ahead with the procedure, figure that you'd be two days, the day of, and the day after. Beyond that, there's no lifting for a couple of weeks; kids included! getting it done now while you're young means that you'll snap back quickly.
Thank you for all the information! Totally understand your not physicians. Alas you have given me more information in one response than the specialist did in my appointment....I'm calling for a second opinion tomorrow mainly to get a dr I will hopefully be more comfortable with.
Oddly, I had no symptoms during my pregnancy that I can think of! It just happened to be detected during the c-section. Prior to pregnancy I did have occational symptoms mainly dizziness and an occational heart pounding feeling, but prior to pregnancy I had associated it to stress. I have always had a low blood pressure and the dizziness I had on and off my entire life..had even gone to drs about had been associated to low iron.
Since birth I've had several dizzy spells, but I have noticed a pattern of them being shortly after I have caffeine. It's interesting to know that the EKG is not a definitive diagnosis. The dr told me that it was def. wpw and that I in fact too have the more deadly form that the electricity runs down instead of up. I'm sure. Any of these things they can tell from an EKG, but it makes more sense to me that it may not be definitive. He did say that my chance of death was low 1 in 1000 and said probably even lower after my EKG I had that day. With two small kiddos tho it is still nerve wracking.
I'm not at all opposed to the ablation and in ehaed future it I would much prefer the permanent fix, but right now it's simply not good timing for my family. Anyway thank you so much for the information!
Oddly, I had no symptoms during my pregnancy that I can think of! It just happened to be detected during the c-section. Prior to pregnancy I did have occational symptoms mainly dizziness and an occational heart pounding feeling, but prior to pregnancy I had associated it to stress. I have always had a low blood pressure and the dizziness I had on and off my entire life..had even gone to drs about had been associated to low iron.
Since birth I've had several dizzy spells, but I have noticed a pattern of them being shortly after I have caffeine. It's interesting to know that the EKG is not a definitive diagnosis. The dr told me that it was def. wpw and that I in fact too have the more deadly form that the electricity runs down instead of up. I'm sure. Any of these things they can tell from an EKG, but it makes more sense to me that it may not be definitive. He did say that my chance of death was low 1 in 1000 and said probably even lower after my EKG I had that day. With two small kiddos tho it is still nerve wracking.
I'm not at all opposed to the ablation and in ehaed future it I would much prefer the permanent fix, but right now it's simply not good timing for my family. Anyway thank you so much for the information!
I think many people who have SVT symptoms may refer to it as WPW perhaps because there seems to be a lot written on it. The fact is, WPW is uncommon, and to have the potentially dangerous type is even more rare. When it co, es to diagnosing it, there is a clue the MAY confirm it. When carefully examining an EKG from a patient with WPW, there is a distinct waveform that may indicate the presence of WPW. This is not always the case though, so the trend is towards invasive examination which will positively confirm whether it's there or not. Conversely, my own EKG appeared to slightly show this waveform. But through the electrophysiology procedure, it was shown to be another type of AVRT called Circus Motion Tachycardia. I think a good electrophysiologist will go in there without any predeterminations, and through the mapping process, narrow down the possibilities until a positive diagnosis is made.
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Some beta blockers can be used safely during breastfeeding. The amount that is passed through the milk is very, low and is of little concern. There are list online that can guide your selection, but I sure a physician would know.
The procedure to eliminate your WPW is "surgery" in the broadest sense. Two punctures are made, one in each leg where it joins your torso. Wires catheters are threaded into the heart and are used to map your heart's electrical system, find the location or source of your problem, and make tiny burns on the inside of the heart wall to sever the errant electrical pathway. You walk usually the same day and after a day of taking it easy, can pretty go back to normal activities with a few restrictions. Beta blockers are often tried, but most of us have continued episodes. You can get into other drugs and experiment with different strengths, but doing so carries a risk level as well.
Yes, there are two types of WPW, and the direction of the electrical impulse travels in the accessory pathway, down or up, can determine if you are more likely to have an occurance of a deadly form of arrhythmia.
Finally, we have a friend who has episodes of SVT during pregnancy and delivery. What kind it is has not been confirmed. But goes away completely between pregnancies and she has had four deliveries, enough to show a pattern. I found that fatigue would make me susceptible not episodes of SVT. I'm not sure of the mechanism, but it definitely was there.
So you have 3 options as I see it:
1) do nothing for now and see if a pattern develops.
2) try a beta blocker, one that is safe to use during breastfeeding.
3) submit to an electrophysiology procedure where the will eliminate your WPW completely.
I have to add that finding the location of your SVT is essential in eliminating it. In some people like myself, starting it up was extremely easy to do. In others it may be hard or impossible to coax into action. I have found that there seems to be a correlation between the number of episodes you have and the ease in getting the heart to go into SVT during the procedure. It's a very expensive procedure, somewhere around $100,000 (US), so it's good to go in there only once! Good luck!