
If there’s a type of heart palpitation that tends to cause more worry than others, it’s when the heart starts beating unusually hard or fast, seemingly without reason. Atrial fibrillation and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW).National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Clinical features and diagnosis of supraventricular tachycardia in children. Treatment of symptomatic arrhythmias associated with the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Loss of ventricular preexcitation during noninvasive testing does not exclude high-risk accessory pathways: A multicenter study of WPW in children. Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome: Anatomy, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis. WPW syndrome has been linked to sudden cardiac death in children and young adults. The extra pathway can also cause heart signals to travel backward, causing an uncoordinated heart rhythm. The signals become excited, and the heart rate gets faster. As a result, the heart signals don't slow down. In WPW syndrome, an extra electrical pathway connects the upper and lower heart chambers, allowing heart signals to bypass the AV node. In a typical heart, this heart signaling process usually goes smoothly, resulting in a resting heart rate of 60 to 100 beats a minute. When the electrical signals reach the ventricles, the chambers contract and pump blood to the lungs or to the rest of the body. This slight delay allows the ventricles to fill with blood. Next, the heart signals arrive at a cluster of cells called the AV node, where the signals slow down. These electrical signals move across the atria, causing the heart muscles to squeeze (contract) and pump blood into the ventricles. The sinus node sends electrical signals that typically start each heartbeat. The heart's rhythm is controlled by a natural pacemaker (the sinus node) in the right upper chamber (atrium). The heart is made of four chambers - two upper chambers (atria) and two lower chambers (ventricles). The signal then travels through the atria to the atrioventricular (AV) node and into the ventricles, causing them to contract and pump blood. In a typical heart rhythm, a tiny cluster of cells at the sinus node sends out an electrical signal. Sensation of a fast or pounding heartbeat.If you feel like your heart is beating too fast, make an appointment to see a health care provider.Ĭall 911 or your local emergency number if you have any of the following symptoms for more than a few minutes: For example, the heart rate may increase with exercise. Sometimes a fast heartbeat, or heart rate, isn't a concern. It's important to get a prompt diagnosis and care. It's often discovered by chance during a heart test.

This condition is called Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) pattern. Some people with an extra electrical pathway don't have signs or symptoms of a fast heartbeat.


A rapid, fluttering or pounding heartbeat (palpitations).In general, signs and symptoms that may occur in people with WPW syndrome include:

Some people with WPW syndrome also have a fast and chaotic heart rhythm problem called atrial fibrillation. Supraventricular tachycardia causes episodes of a fast, pounding heartbeat that begin and end abruptly. The most common arrhythmia seen with WPW syndrome is supraventricular tachycardia. Other signs and symptoms of WPW syndrome are related to the fast heart rate and underlying heart rhythm problem (arrhythmia). Episodes can occur during exercise or while at rest. The most common sign of Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome is a heart rate greater than 100 beats a minute.Įpisodes of a fast heart rate (tachycardia) can begin suddenly and may last a few seconds or several hours.
