Synonyms
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome; WPW
Definition and Characteristics
Congenital syndrome in which the ventricular muscle is excited electrically earlier than it would occur if the impulse was conducted to the ventricles only through the physiological atrioventricular conduction system. Prexcitation syndrome (PS) results from the developmental defect of the atrioventricular electrical insulation of the heart, in the most common form due to a persistence of abnormal muscular connection – the accessory pathway (AP) bridging electrically either left or right atrium to the ventricle (atrioventricular AP, formerly called Kent fibers). Atrioventricular APs with the ability to conduct the impulse anterogradely – from atria to ventricles (overt preexcitation) produce a specific electrocardiographic pattern of ventricular preexcitation – a short PQ interval, widened QRS complexes with a slurring in an initial part (delta wave), and changes in ST-T segment. The presence of AP is a...
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References
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Lenarczyk, R., Kowalski, O., Kalarus, Z. (2009). Preexcitation Syndrome. In: Lang, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Molecular Mechanisms of Disease. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29676-8_1452
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29676-8_1452
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-67136-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-29676-8
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