The nurse is admitting a patient to the telemetry floor. When obtaining the patient history, the nurse notes that the patient has a history of Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome. What does the nurse recognize as the defining characteristic of this conduction syndrome?

Explanation

•WPW is characterized by an accessory pathway called the bundle of Kent. 

•Electrical signals travel down this abnormal accessory conduction pathway (the bundle of Kent) and can stimulate the ventricles to contract prematurely. This causes a type of supraventricular tachycardia referred to as atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia.

Incorrect options:

•The bundle of His is the common pathway of atrioventricular (AV) node conduction, not a characteristic of WPW.

•WPW is not characterized by an obstruction of blood flow or by bradycardia.

•WPW is a conduction syndrome but does not increase the automaticity of the cardiac cells.

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