|
Information and hint's on Multipile Scolroscis and Wolf Parkinsons White or WPW for short
This area is especially for those who suffer from MS or WPW. Or those who know someone with one of these diseases, who want more information. Also those who would like to get information from someone who suffers from the disease themselves.
Hello again, it is me Dawn your website host. I have spent alot time working on this site, I have now decided to put some information about some different diseases that affect my life and the life of my sister. I have WPW and my sister has MS. Unfortunally the diseases have changed our lives drastically, but we must go on. God has put on my heart to tell you about these diseases, in the hope that we can help others out. Just becouse you have a disease like this does not mean your life is over.There is help and treatments out there, also there is alot of people that will talk to you about it, and we are a few of these people. So if you need the information or you are just curious please read on, also I will be adding a new subject line to the corkboard so you can post any questions or insight's pretainning to these subjects.
|
|
WPW Disease cont.
Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome
You have been told you have Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Syndrome. WPW can lead to extremely rapid heart rates. These arrhythmias, or abnormal heart rhythms, can produce symptoms such as palpitations, light-headedness, or even loss of consciousness. In rare instances, WPW can lead to cardiac arrest.
The heart, which is a muscle, has an electrical system which is responsible for causing it to contract and relax. Normally, each heart beat begins in the SA node. The SA node is a group of cells located in the upper right chamber of the heart. An electrical impulse travels from the SA node and spreads across both upper chambers, or the atria. The atria then contract. The impulse next travels to the AV node, located between the upper and lower chambers of the heart. From here, the impulse leaves the AV node and spreads down and across both lower chambers, or the ventricles. The ventricles contract, pumping blood to the body.
However, in WPW, an extra electrical pathway exists between the atria and the ventricles. This extra pathway may at times encourage a rapid rhythm. Instead of allowing the next heart beat to begin at the SA node, the extra pathway can "pick up" an electrical impulse in the ventricles and send it abnormally back upward to the atria. When this happens, the impulse begins to travel abnormally in a rapid, circular manner, causing a rapid heart rate.
This pattern can stop on its own or can require medical interventions to end the arrhythmia.
Your doctor may be able to tell you that you have WPW based on your EKG. Sometimes, an electrophysiology (EP) study is necessary to determine the presence of the extra pathway.
Treatment
Treatment of WPW is based on the severity of symptoms experienced with the rapid heart rates. Medications may be able to control the occurrence of any rapid heart rates. However, some people are not able to tolerate these medications. In addition, very fast heart rates and severe symptoms (such as loss of consciousness) may persist despite the use of medications. A procedure known as catheter ablation can be used to destroy the abnormal pathway, and prevent the rapid heart rates associated with the abnormal pathway.
.
Wolf Parkinsons White
Please tell a friend about our site at My Family.
.
Web MD.com
|
About Catheter Ablation
. Catheter Ablation
Due to your arrhythmia (abnormal rhythm), your doctor is considering a catheter ablation. Catheter ablation is a non-surgical technique used to eliminate alternate pathways present in the heart that interfere with the normal conduction and cause arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats).
Prior to the procedure, you can expect to sign an informed consent. You are encouraged to ask your doctor, nurse or the staff any questions you may have regarding the procedure and what to expect.
You will have an intravenous line to provide access for laboratory personnel to give you sedation and other medications, prescribed by your doctor, during the procedure. The catheter ablation is performed in the Electrophysiology Laboratory and may take three to six hours. You will be sedated during this time. Due to the length of the procedure, a urinary catheter will be inserted to drain your bladder during the procedure. The urinary catheter will be removed after the procedure, either later the same day or the next morning, when you are allowed out of bed. The sedation you will receive for the procedure may cause you to forget most of the procedure, and may cause you to sleep for several hours after the procedure.
You will not be alone during the procedure. There will be many trained staff with you during your catheter ablation to assist you with anything you may require during the procedure. For your safety, restraints may be applied to your arms and legs. You are closely monitored during the procedure. This monitoring may include, but is not limited to, such things as your heart rhythm, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation.
A full EP study will be performed with stimulation of the arrhythmia and mapping of internal cardiac structures locating the site of extra pathways that may be the cause of your arrhythmias. You can expect to have the EP catheters inserted in both groins and at the side of your neck also. Once the area of the heart has been defined through catheter mapping, a special ablation catheter is placed at the site of the abnormal pathway. Radio-frequency waves are delivered through this catheter. The heat formed by this catheter causes scar tissue on this pathway of cells so that the abnormal conduction cannot pass through. The doctor may perform several applications of this type until the unwanted pathway is no longer functional.
After the procedure, there will be a prescribed period of time you will be required to lie flat in bed to allow the catheter entry sites to heal. This may be a matter of hours or until the next morning.
This procedure has revolutionized the approach to treatment of patients with arrhythmia caused by alternate pathways because it cures the arrhythmia rather than treating it with medication.
|
