Delhi doctors successfully treat child with WPW syndrome with Radiofrequency ablation

Children born with this commonly occurring heart condition, have extra electrical pathways supplying "additional impulse" to the heart's AV (atrioventricular) node. One in a 1,000 children globally are born with this congenital defect that causes multiple episodes of an abnormally fast heartbeat (more than 200 beats per minute) that often start and end suddenly. Patients suffering from this condition, if not treated, experience palpitation, poor quality of life and which may also lead to sudden death.

Sharing details on this case, Dr Awasthy said, "Three-year-old, Divika Daga was born full term and weighed 3 kgs at birth. However, during a pre-natal foetal echo examination, her heartrate was as high as 250 beats per minute. When Divika was 10-days-old, she had multiple episodes of tachycardia causing abnormally fast or slow (fluctuating) heartbeat and was admitted in the ICU (on ventilator support). She was admitted for 10 days and her condition was controlled with multiple anti-arrhythmic drugs. The child also had a history of hospital admission at the age five months when she developed pneumonia. Even upon being admitted at various hospitals multiple times, including once at Mumbai, her condition did not improve. She was denied any procedure due to tender age and many other complications. The parents then took opinion from a doctor in US, who then referred them to us. She was brought at Max Hospital, Saket for further evaluation and management of her condition."

Elaborating, Dr. Balbir Singh said "Divika was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome. In this condition there is an extra electrical pathway between heart's upper chambers and lower chambers, which causes rapid heartbeats. The patient was evaluated and we planned radiofrequency ablation procedure. Upon evaluation, we found veins in her groin region were blocked due to multiple hospitalisations, administration of drugs and dyes. Hence, we had no choice but approach the heart via her arteries for the procedure. Radiofrequency ablation, which is a safe and effective intervention, was used to cut that extra nerve pathway. Post ablation, her heartbeats have returned to normal. The child has now been discharged and is leading a healthy life. She has been declared cured of her disease. The parents are happy with the outcome of the treatment."

While this condition is fairly common, this case was challenging due to the age of the baby and heart which was too small, with veins which were all occluded including the abdominal vein from previous ICU admissions for performing the procedure.