Tachycardia-Wolfe Parkinson-White

[Lisa448]

What is the average age of initial diagnosis of WPW???

[PikaPika88]

Back to 1982, I was diagnosed with PAT (Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia) and RBBB (Right Bundle Branch Block).  No one said is WPW.  Until I left the country, he wrote a letter to another doctor in oversea stated that I have WPW.  I had palpitations since 6 yrs old.  It didn't last long enough to let any doctor caught it in live.  Once a year and it could convert by a sleep or nap.

My mum is having an enlarged heart, palpitations, high blood pressure, diabetes II, high cholestrol, gout.....  but no diagnosis what kind of heart trouble it is?  I really wish to know is she having wpw too or not?  

If you're having a palpitation with wpw then it is called syndrome.  If you didn't have palpitation but showed on ekg "wpw", it is called pattern.

[hobbity]

I have had symptom of wpw since I was a small child.  My dad also had wpw but nobody put a name to it.  They called it PAT short for premature atrial contractions so I've lived with it for years till I had to have an EKG for surgery.  They found it and I was symptom free.  Meaning I did not feel it but it showed up.

I  think it is inherited.  I think for me that stress, nervousness, too much caffiene, too much nicotine can put me into a wpw cycle.  Also Benadryl puts me in it.  I can't take any cough or cold meds due to it flaring up.  They gave me Benadryl IV pre- op after I begged them to not do that.  Some docs think they know more about us than we know about us and it put me into a high rhythm.  Something around 250 beats.  I got something to ease it IV but I have to almost now list Benadryl as an allergy only to be given in extreme emergencies.  Also novacaine sets me off.  Try telling a dentist you don't want it  and they never believe you.  They can give you epicaine that is less racing to the heart but causes more bleeding and they don't like you to bleed.  

I have to have a huge talk with dentists nowdays.

[Bromley]

Excellent question. I dont know either. BUT, I have read that WPW becomes more symptomatic in us as we age.  Also, very young children may not realize that they have anything unusual going on.  

Another question I would have once someone actually stated what the average age was is: over what time frame was the average determined? In the past 20-30 years technology has improved to the point that the initial diagnosis is getting easier.  For instance, 20 years ago we didn't have flash memory, only tape recorders with which to record heart rythmns.  So hopefully the average age should be decreasing with time.

regards, Bromley