tachyarrhymias in the pre-excitation syndromes

Last reviewed 01/2018

Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) is the result of an abnormal atrioventricular conduction pathway which is distinct from the atrioventricular node. The refractory period of the extra pathway is typically shorter than the AV node.

As a result, patients with WPW are susceptible to two main arrhythmias:

• atrioventricular re-entrant tachycardias

• atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response:
• the tachycardia may degenerate into ventricular fibrillation