Wolf-Parkinsons-White Synrome?? (long)

[hiwaygal]

Has anyone heard of this?

My mother called last night to tell me my 30 yr old brother spent the night in the hospital because he had been having heart palpitations all weekend.

They weren't going to release him yesterday because they were going to do a stress test, but when they did the echo-cardiogram they found this "thing" and diagnosed Wolf-Parkinsons-White Syndrome. They did release him, and he's okay to work and all (just has to be careful if he starts to feel weird).

So, they are sending him to a cardiologist (thank goodness he lives near the Cleveland Clinic...hopefully that means there are lots of FABULOUS cardiologists there) to find out if this can be controlled with medications or if he'll have to have surgery!!

Anyway, they were surprised this showed up in someone so young!

I'm going to do some cautious internet research, but I was thinking someone here might have heard of it or something...

I just can't get over this...my *baby* brother is ONLY 30!!!

 

[sacall]

Hi -
Yes, my younger brother was diagnosed with this about three years ago. He too had the racing heart/heart palpations for years but they didn't find out what it was until just three years ago. His could not be controlled with medication, so he had surgery. If I remember correctly, they went in and burned out some of the heart muscle (sorry, I can't really remember all that they did). He didn't have his chest opened up, they just went in thru a small incision. It was not major heart surgery

He was only in the hospital overnight and was pretty much back to work in a week. He has not had any other problems since his surgery and is fine. Hope this helps

Stacy

 

[raisindiskids]

My husband had this surgery about two years ago when he was 42. They did what is called catheter ablation where they go in and remove extra tissue mass from the heart through a small incision and use either it was an artery or vein to reach the heart. He was in the hospital for two days and able to return to work after only a week. He really felt much better after his surgery.
I wish your brother well and am sure he will do just fine also.

 

[hiwaygal]

Thank you both for your responses!

I feel a little better now reading about how well your brother and husband have done! I just hope my brother does as he's told and does as well!

I told my mom that the people here at the DIS would know something about this!

 

[disneynutt1225]

My fiance had WPW in 2001 - he was 22 years old and the first case our local hospital had ever seen! The night he spent in that hospital he was constantly being shown to interns. They thought he was so interesting! LOL.

He had the catheter ablation surgery to rectify it, and two days later he was out of the hospital. It was a couple of days before Thanksgiving, and I remember he was wiped out but he managed to survive the 2 hour drive to my cousin's house.

The strange part is, because he's a firefighter he'd have to have his heart monitored yearly because of a particular apparatus they used. This was never caught on ANY EKG at all. The only reason why it was found was because he fell out of his bed one morning (he had a loft bed) and had a seizure. When he arrived at the ER and they did the EKG, the doctors determined that he had WPW.

He was offered the option of taking the medication, but because he was so young he didn't want to be taking meds the rest of his life so he went ahead with the surgery.

Hope your brother gets to the bottom of it soon! Sending pixie dust your way.

 

[DisneyHumbug]

My 20 y.o. DD has WPW. She was having palpitations very frequently. Her dr. told her to cut out all caffeine, and now she only has them once in a while. She was dx'd last year and sees her cardiologist annually.

 

[agotta]

My mom has WPW. It has never been a major problem for her, although every few years they make her wear a heart monitor. She has had it since the age of 18. I make sure the doctors keep an eye on it for me too. I have heart palpitations quite frequently. I am a blood pressure medicine for migraines and that has been controlling it a bit better. P&PD for your brother, I am sure everything will be ok.

 

[hiwaygal]

He was offered the option of taking the medication, but because he was so young he didn't want to be taking meds the rest of his life so he went ahead with the surgery.

Hope your brother gets to the bottom of it soon! Sending pixie dust your way.

Thanks for the PD!!!

After the little bit of reading I did on the internet, and from what I've read here, I'm beginning to think he ought to just go with the surgery and be done with it!

My brother had terrible asthma when he was young, and I wondered if that or the steroids he took for that could have made this show up at a "younger" age, but I'm beginning to think that he actually is "average" for this to show up.

Thank you again for your insight!!

 

[hiwaygal]

My 20 y.o. DD has WPW. She was having palpitations very frequently. Her dr. told her to cut out all caffeine, and now she only has them once in a while. She was dx'd last year and sees her cardiologist annually.

Wow...I heard WPW was more often found in males, so I'm sure the dx was even more of a surprise for you and your DD!

My brother's docs also suggested he stop caffeine and follow the South Beach diet (because it is the most heart healthy, or so they said).

Does your DD take medications, or is she able to "control" it through diet?

 

[hiwaygal]

My mom has WPW. It has never been a major problem for her, although every few years they make her wear a heart monitor. She has had it since the age of 18. I make sure the doctors keep an eye on it for me too. I have heart palpitations quite frequently. I am a blood pressure medicine for migraines and that has been controlling it a bit better. P&PD for your brother, I am sure everything will be ok.

Thank you very much for the P&PD! (from everyone, it really does mean alot! )

I read it was one of those things you are born with...we wondered how much of it was hereditary too. I think it's a good idea that you keep an eye on it yourself too!!

TO EVERYONE WHO RESPONDED...thank you so much! And I wish all of you who have dealt with this in some way the very best!! You guys ROCK!!