Abstract

This review discusses the information which can be obtained by cardiac pacing in patients with the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Programmed electrical stimulation when combined with the recording of intracardiac electrograms and surface electrocardiograph leads, can be extremely useful in the following areas. 1) Determining the type of the accessory atrioventricular connexions; 2) determining the electrophysiological properties of the accessory atrioventricular pathway; 3) localizing the position of the accessory atrioventricular pathway; 4) determining the mechanisms of any tachycardia; 5) assessing effect of drugs; 6) identifying patients likely to be at high risk; and 7)evaluating postoperative conduction.