WPW Wolff Parkinson White

[WPWwarriorLayton]

Hello everyone. I have joined this community as my son, 11 year old Boy, Layton, has been diagnosed with WPW Syndrome and is having a catheter ablation mid March. I’m here for any advice, tips, or support which can be offered!

[Tryingtonotdie]

My daughter had ablation done at 18 for WPW. The only recovery was the site of incision on her thigh. The hardest park for her was getting the IV, she is not fond of needles. She did require three "zaps" of her nerve as after the first and second it started back up after 20/45 minutes, so the procedure took longer than originally anticipated. She had to do the procedure again a year later as the nerve returned. Since then, she has had no issues.

[adiwillow]

Hi, i have WPW, diagnosed in December. I'm 52.

Ablations are around 40% successful from what i can tell. For many people they work straight away, for others the problem comes back within a year, some longer. Some people cannot be ablated at all due to the location of the pathway.

What i do know is that after the ablation, your son may be tachycardic, suffer ectopics, have SVT etc etc for a while afterwards... often starting the next day. This is because your heart is essentially scarred and has to heal. He may stay like this for a few weeks. However, it doesn't happen all of the time and some people are just 100% better from day one, and it never returns again.

Despite it's small risks, everyone who has it says it was one of the best things they've done. Yes, it is scary (i'm dreading mine as i have severe medical anxiety) but as far as i'm aware it is well worthwhile. For an 11 year old, the benefits far outweight the risks.

The BHF helpline is great, if you have any questions about it. They also have a video on youtube which explains it all. You'll find the link on the BHF website.