Abstract
The number of asymptomatic children and young adults diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson- White (WPW) preexcitation on resting ECG is arising, in particular after the implementation of the pre-participation screening of young competitive athletes. Besides symptoms of atriventricular re-entrant tachycardia, these patients are at increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) due to rapid antegrade conduction of atrial fibrillation over the accessory pathway (AP).
Individual risk assessment of SCD in affected persons is generally complex and both diagnostics and therapy are led by cardiologist, exercise stress testing however plays a crucial role in noninvasive assessment of the AP properties, namely of its capacity for antegrade (atrioventricular) conduction