See Also: Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome(health)
Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome (WPW)(health)
wolff-parkinson-white syndrome(medicine)
Wolf Parkinson White syndrome(medicine)
May-White syndrome(medicine)
egg-white syndrome(medicine)
white-out syndrome(medicine)
Wolff's law(medicine)
Wolff(dictionary)
Wolff, Kaspar(medicine)

Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome (WPW) (health)


WPW is a form of supraventricular tachycardia (fast heart rate originating above the ventricles). When you have WPW, along with your normal conduction pathway, you have extra pathways called accessory pathways. These electrical impulses set up a short circuit causing the heart to beat rapidly and conduct impulses in both directions. The impulses travel through the extra pathway (short cut) as well as the normal AV-HIS Purkinje system. The impulses can travel around the heart very quickly, in a circular pattern, causing the heart to beat unusually fast. This is called re-entry tachycardia.