mito and the heart

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Hi Jan

Short answer: yes, both WPW and RBBB are definitely connected to mito.

I searched for " WPW heart mitochondrial " on Yahoo (I added " heart " because

at first I didn't know what WPW is, I do now) and found a number of

references, esp. re Kearns-Sayre syndrome and MELAS.

There's a great article (check references at end, too) entitled " Cardiac

Involvement in Mitochondrial Diseases, A Study on 17 Patients With

Documented Mitochondrial DNA Defects " at

http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/91/4/955 .

Steve D.

> Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 00:23:52 -0700

>

> Subject: Re: question about " home " defibrillators STEVE

>

> Very interesting Duane has WPW which is also in the heart is RBBB

connected

> with mito I am not sure if WPW is they ( mito Dr) can not give me a

> definitive answer.

>

> Thanks Jan

> Wife to Duane

>

> >

> > Is the KIND of heart attack caused by the complications of mito

disorders,

> > likely to respond to the newly approved " home " defibrillators (aka AED

or

> > Automatic External Defibrillator)? Some elderly people I know, and

> > institutions like my small church, as well as many rescue organizations,

> are

> > suddenly finding these now " affordable " devices attractive.

> >

> > Supposedly these are for ventricular tachycardia or ventricular

> > fibrillation, based on info at

> > http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/common/articles.cfm?ARTID=586

> > (you can read the whole article easily by clicking on " printer-friendly

> > version " ).

> >

> > For instance I have right bundle branch block (RBBB) which shows up

> readily

> > on an EKG. By the way, if this is a chronic condition (as for me) it

also

> > masks the usefulness of this indicator in an E-R situation, which I

found

> > out a couple of weeks ago when I had chest pains. Good thing I knew that

I

> > already had this RBBB. They really wanted to see an old EKG printout,

but

> I

> > had left it at home (what a great PCP, that had let me copy this in the

> > first place). Another argument for PATIENTS carrying around their own

> > records.

> >

> > So assuming we could afford these AEDs, or get our insurance to pay

> (anyone

> > have experience on this?), the question is, are they useful for our

types

> of

> > problems? Prices look like $1000-$2000, not exactly cheap,

but.......once

> > many people are getting them, the price will surely fall.

> >

> > Steve D.