mightypudge

About a decade ago I was diagnosed with Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome (WPW). For those not familiar, this is from WebMD.com:

"Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome is a rare disorder involving irregularities in the heartbeat (cardiac arrhythmia). Patients have an extra circuit or pathway, called the Bundle of Kent, through which electrical signals are conducted to the heart, allowing excessive stimulation. Palpitations (sensation of rapid or irregular beating of the heart), weakness, and shortness of breath may occur."

Due to the symptoms, WPW makes getting any kind of cardio exercise somewhat challenging, including my recent exercise of choice: cycling. But I do not want to give up cycling like I had to give up other sports a decade ago.

I've been to two separate doctors, both who seem to treat WPW like an enigma. They tell me severe cases of WPW can be treated with medication, but what is considered a "severe case" is very subjective. Some doctors think all cases of WPW require medication, while others seem content to not treat it until the patient is complaining of costant symptoms. Both doctors tell me that exercise is OK, but they can't tell me to what extent.

Last July I weighed 275 pounds and decided to start Weight Watchers. I lost 70 pounds but then gained 10 back. So I am currently at 215 and holding steady for a few months. I'd like to get down to 175 but I am pretty much through losing any more weight strictly by dieting alone. I need to exercise!

Does anyone here know of or have this or a similar condition? If so, what do you do to continue cycling?

mightypudge

I'd also like to add that I will be seeing a cardiologist about possible treatment options. Medication is one, but I hear that radio frequency is being used to permanently treat WPW.

joeprim

MP
Sorry to hear about your condition. I know nothing about it. Since the Docs (remember I know more old drunks than I do old Docs so ...) said it was ok to exercise I would continue. Don't get to the point of chest pains and see how it goes.

Joe

pointyhead

This sounds remarkably like what a friend's son had. It was essentially an extra branch of a nerve on his heart, that caused an extra pulse to the heart muscle, making the heartbeat erratic and excessively racing. They did a proceedure to go in and burn the nerve, severing it. They had to do it 3 times to get it completely, but the boy is doing great. I'd suggest finding a good cardiologist group and consult them. I pray that it works out for you.

roadbuzz

Just a guess... the medication may have some kind of side effect, like making it difficult to get your heart rate up when you want/need it to... be sure to ask.

cbhungry

Let me expound a little on WPW:

The abnormal connection you are talking about usually consists of a small collection of heart muscle fibers and is known as a bypass tract or an accessory pathway. This bypass tract allows for a continuous electrical loop to form, with one side being the bypass tract and the other being the AV node.(The normal conduction pathway of the heart) The electrical impulse can continuously cycle in this circuit, stimulating the heart to beat at rates of 160 to 220 times per minute. This type of arrhythmia is known as an atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia and is the most common arrhythmia in patients with bypass tracts. Additionally, patients with bypass tracts are more likely to develop atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. When they do, the electrical impulses can travel down the bypass tract and cause the heart to beat at rates in excess of 250 to 300 times per minute. This may result in fainting (syncope), cardiac arrest, or sudden death in these patients.

Bear in mind that he risk of sudden death in patients with WPW and rapid arrhythmias is estimated to be 0.05% to 0.5% per year. WPW occurs in approximately 0.1% to 0.3% of the population and is more common in males than females


However with that said the rule of thumb is that excercise does not necessarily trigger WPW, (I have long distance, competative marathon runners with it) and if you have no symptoms treatment is not recommended with either medicines or radio frequency ablation. However, if you do have symptoms, it really is subjective in terms of how often is too often to warrant treatment. Is One attack a year or every few years too much or not? The problem with treating with medicines is that they block the av nodes (digitalis, beta blockers and calcium channel blockers) and can itself induce tachyarrytmia through the bypass tract since you have blocked the av node, the normal conduction pathway. Radio frequency ablation is very common these days but we have no studies to show it makes a difference in people with WPW who have no to minimal symptoms. I have athletes who have had the ablation because they were getting fast heart rates that were troublsome and frequent enough that they did not want to take meds that will slow down their heart rate and affect their preformance. I also have athletes who have no symptoms and it was discovered incidently by their delta waves on the EKG and have opted for no treatment. Talk with the cardiologist and get a second opinion if necessary. This is one area in cardiology that is still pretty hazy.

Veloist

I was diagnosed with WPW. My cardiologist suggested Ablation theropy. It is a day proceedure where they go up through the arteries/veins in your leg and ablate the extra pathway in the hear. It was a day outpatient proceedure with about 3 days of recovery at home. Worked great. No more WPW!

wabbit

I've heard of this condition and there does seem to be a wide variety of treatments for it. I don't think you could race at an elite level if you had that condition and it wasn't treated, but if you're riding to stay in shape, I would imagine they'd encourage that! However, if it were me I'd look for the best treatment for an ACTIVE person. I think a lot of doctors are used to treating the typical, out of shape, macdonalds-eating types who never exercise. I've noticed this. They seem to be surprised that anyone wants to do more than just walk a block! Except of course for Doctor CB Hungry, who sees lots of athletes. But it does seem that there are some very effective treatments for this, I even remember seeing something about it on tv recently.