Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome: Children Born With This Condition Will Have Episodes Of Fast Heartbeats

Recently, doctors at a Delhi hospital saved life of a three-year-old toddler suffering from Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, using minimally invasive procedure. Read to know more about this condition...

Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Syndrome is a rare congenital heart condition, with the global prevalence estimated at one in a thousand. In this condition, a child is born with an extra electrical nerve pathway in the heart's atrioventricular node that supplies additional impulse, leading to abnormally faster heartbeat (more than 250 bpm). Children born with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome develop multiple episodes of irregular heartbeats requiring admissions to ICU.

"Such patients require immediate intervention and if not treated timely, experiences palpitation, poor quality of life and even lead to sudden death," said Dr.Neeraj Awasthy, Principal Consultant & In-charge - Paediatric Cardiology, Max Hospital, Saket.

Treatment of Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome

Recently, doctors at Max Hospital, Saket, Delhi saved the life of a three-year-old toddler suffering from this condition, using minimally invasive procedure known as Radiofrequency Ablation.

The child, named Divika from Bikaner, who was born with this condition had been having several severe episodes of irregular heartbeats requiring multiple times admissions to ICU since birth. Pertaining to her tender age and other complications, she was earlier denied any procedure at various hospitals.

Divika was diagnosed with a very high heart rate (250 BPM) during the pre-natal echo. Despite born full term with 3 Kg birth weight, she developed multiple episodes of tachycardia (fluctuating heartbeat) and was immediately admitted on ventilator support for 10 days where her condition was controlled with multiple anti-arrhythmic drugs. The child also had a history of hospital admission at the age five months when she developed pneumonia. Even upon being admitted at various hospitals multiple times, her condition did not improve.

Finally, she was referred to Max Hospital, where she was thoroughly examined and advised for a minimally invasive radiofrequency ablation procedure.

What You Need to Know About Radiofrequency Ablation

Radiofrequency ablation is a safe and effective intervention used to cut that extra nerve pathway, stated Dr Balbir Singh, Chairman of Cardiology Pan Max.

In the case of Divika, because she had been hospitalized multiple times with administration of drugs & dyes in such a tender age, the evaluation for conducting the radiofrequency ablation had various challenges, with major one being that the veins in her groin were blocked and the procedure had to be performed via her arteries only, the doctors at Max Hospital explained.

"Post ablation, her heartbeats have returned to normal. The child has now been discharged and is leading a healthy life. She has been declared cured of her disease. The parents are happy with the outcome of the treatment. While this condition is fairly common, this case was challenging due to the age of the baby and heart which was too small, with veins which were all occluded including the abdominal vein from previous ICU admissions for performing the procedure," added Dr Singh.

Causes of Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome

Little is known about the causes of Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. It may result from an abnormal gene or some forms of congenital heart disease, such as Ebstein anomaly. Babies with WPW syndrome can develop signs and symptoms such as:

• Grayish or blueish skin color
• Restlessness or irritability
• Rapid breathing
• Poor eating

If your child has these symptoms, see a doctor. Treatment can correct the heart rhythm problems.