Posted by steve giddings on October 06, 2002 at 10:57:01:
In Reply to: Has anyone else had this problem(Slick Node)? posted by Steve Haluska on October 05, 2002 at 19:16:41:
When when atrial beats are transmitted between the atria and the ventricles above a rate, typically about 200- 220 bpm, there is usually an "aberrant" conduction pathway that bypasses the normal av node. There are several that are distinguished by the particular path they take. Each one may leave different hints that they are present on an electrocardiogram. Some are completely quiet. Probably the most common is called Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome. Most commonly they cause regular atrial tachydardias with very rapid rates. They can convert into A fib, however. They are potentially dangerous, because the rates are so rapid the heart doesn't pump well. They can also deteriorate into ventricular tachyarrhythmias.
That is the bad news. The good news is because these are discrete bundles of conduction fibers that typically follow known patterns, they are very amenable to cure by RFA.Steve Giddings