is wpw very dangerous, and how much more risk do i have from it if taking drugs?

[jaybeenox]

i have wolff parkinson white heart downsyndrome and i was wondering how risky my heart condition actually is, as a child when i first found out i had it they didn't really tell me much. i havn't had an attack (fast heart beat i can't stop) in at least 6 years. i've read up recently that it can cause sudden heart failure. also how risky is taking speed when i have this heart condition? i know there is a risk with all illegal drugs but is there a big chance of an possible fatal attack if i'm taking it ? thank you very much for any help you can give :)

[kay2486]

its far too dangerous for you to take cocaine or any illegal drugs, especially with electrical problem, its a risk i wouldnt take even without a heart problem cuz even then it could kill you, my advice dont take the risk even if you're fine it will catch up with you later in life and cause problems then, but the doctors even prescribe up meds for arrythmias and they can turn into more serious ones that even cause death

[sian333]

* rhythm

Excuse my terrible spelling. It's very early here : ]

[sian333]

Hi is_something_wrong : ]

I have a friends Dad who has just been diagnosed with Brugada at 55. His is genetic and had nothing to do with substance abuse, as he never abused any drugs.

His daughter (a close friend of mine) is now being tested for the syndrome as well, as it can be passed down.

His specialists told him how Brugada is also known as the syndrome of coke users. I indeed know of a person who developed Brugada after going on a long coke binge.

It's sard to say if the person had the syndrome in the first place, and it just accelerated it by using the drugs. But it can apparently be caused by coke abuse.

I've heard of a lot of people going into cardiac arrest from coke. I would imagine they would have been in a dangerous rythm before going into arrest.  

Lesson of the story...drugs are bad!

[is_something_wrong]

I completely agree - but I got somehow interested in your statement regarding Brugada.

As far as I know, this is an inherited genetic disease, I didn't think drugs could cause it. Did they get symptoms after using speed? Or did speed cause the disease?

I don't mean to argue with you - it was just somewhat interesting :)

[sian333]

I am so amazed that you would even ask this question.

I know you're young, but don't be fooled by drugs. Please.

Speed can mess up a perfectly normal heart, so imagine what it would do to a heart which already has an electrical defect.

Speed causes Brugada Syndrome and has done so in people I know of!

If you value your life, please don't do speed. Or any drugs. Smoking tabacco alone triggered my electrical problems.

There's a decent chance of a dangerous attack if you do speed.

Don't put your heart through that. Don't put yourself through that.

[LindaTX]

You are young and obviously think you are invincible at 18......but you are playing with fire.  I hope someone or something gets through to you before it's tooooo late.  You need to start fresh, talk to your Dr and follow his orders to a T. Please educate yourself and learn ALL you can about your body and your disorder and you will be all the better for it.  And no alcohol, smoking or drugs!  You just may be around another 50 or 60 or 70 yrs.  :)

[is_something_wrong]

Hello.

WPW can be dangerous, and it can be benign.

What determines if WPW is dangerous, is how fast the extra pathway can lead electricity. You can get tachycardia events both if the pathway is slow or fast, the risk is connected with atrial fibrillation (or atrial flutter). If the pathway is extremely fast, atrial fibrillation is similar to ventricular fibrillation and life threatening, because every impulse is conducted. As atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia (especially in older people), fast pathways are treated with ablation.

Speed is dangerous even if you don't have any arrhythmias. If you tend to get supraventricular tachycardia with WPW, you should quit immediately!