[Risk of ventricular fibrillation in patients with Wolff-Parkinson White syndrome].
A 16-year-old boy suddenly fell off his stool, a 26-year-old man had persistent palpitations and a 29-year-old man was reanimated without an incriminating anamnesis. The diagnosis 'Wolff-Parkinson-White(WPW)-syndrome' was made in all three cases. The boy died as a result of postanoxic neurological injury; in the two men, further cardiac rhythm disturbances were prevented by interrupting the accessory atrioventricular connection via radiofrequency catheter ablation. In ECG databases, a WPW-pattern is encountered in 1-3 of 1000 electrocardiograms. Atrial fibrillation with 1:1 conduction via the accessory pathway, leading to ventricular fibrillation, is the most common cause of sudden death in WPW-patients. In some cases, atrial fibrillation with a rapid ventricular response is the first sign of the syndrome. The risk of sudden death in these patients is estimated to be 0.0-0.6% per patient per year and cannot be predicted easily. Curative treatment is possible in the form of radiofrequency catheter ablation.
Bootsma
M
M
Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum, afd. Cardiologie, Postbus 9600, 2300 RC Leiden. m.bootsma@lumc.nl
van der Wall
E E
EE
Schalij
M J
MJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D003645:Death, Sudden; D004562:Electrocardiography; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000209:etiology; D014927:Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy
D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents