The other diseases for which Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome is listed as a possible alternative diagnosis in their lists include:
Related medical mistakes may include:
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Heart attacks can be undiagnosed: Although the most severe symptoms of heart attack are hard to miss, there are varying degrees of severity. It is altogether too common for people to die from undiagnosed heart attack, or from delaying too long to call for emergency help. The prognosis for treatment is far better for patients treated in the early stages of a heart attack. The most common misdiagnoses include heartburn, or other less severe causes of chest pain. See the introduction to heart attack and the symptoms of heart attack.
Heart attacks can be overdiagnosed: Although many people die from heart attacks, there are also many cases where people fear that they have a heart attack, but actually have something milder. Some of the conditions which may be causes of chest pain, causing fear of a heart attack, including an anxiety attack, heartburn, and so on. See the causes of chest pain and the symptoms of heart attack.
Rare heart condition often undiagnosed: The rare heart condition called long QT syndrome can lead to episodes of palpitations and rapid heartbeat. In rare cases, this undiagnosed condition can be fatal. It should be considered for any unexplained heart rhythm abnormality.
Heart attack can be over-diagnosed: Although heart attack is often undiagnosed, leading to fatality, it can also be over-diagnosed. People become concerned that a condition is a heart attack, whereas there are various less dangerous possibilities. After all, there are numerous causes of chest pain. Some of the common conditions where a person may become concerned about a possible heart attack include a panic attack (which often has both chest pain and difficulty breathing), and heartburn/reflux type conditions. Nevertheless, chest pain itself can be a potentially life-threatening symptoms, and needs immediate professional attention.
Tremor need not be Parkinson's disease: There is the tendency to believe that any tremor symptom, or shakiness, means Parkinson's disease. The reality is that there are various possibilities, such as benign essential tremor, which is mostly harmless. see the various causes of tremor and misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure. The "cuff" around the arm to measure blood pressure can simply be too small to accurately test a child's blood pressure. This can lead to an incorrect diagnosis of a child with hypertension. The problem even has a name unofficially: "small cuff syndrome". See misdiagnosis of hypertension.
Rare diseases misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease: A rare genetic disorder is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease for men in their 50's. The disease Fragile X disorder can show only mild symptoms in the early years, and Parkinsons-like symptoms around age 50. See misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Brain pressure condition often misdiagnosed as dementia: A condition that results from an excessive pressure of CSF within the brain is often misdiagnosed. It may be misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease or dementia (such as Alzheimer's disease). The condition is called "Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus" (NPH) and is caused by having too much CSF, i.e. too much "fluid on the brain". One study suggested that 1 in 20 diagnoses of dementia or Parkinson's disease were actually NPH. See misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Hypertension misdiagnosis common in children: Hypertension is often misdiagnosed in adults (see misdiagnosis of hypertension), but its misdiagnosis is even more likely in children. Some of the symptoms of hypertension that can be overlooked include chest pain, headaches, abdominal pain, etc. See symptoms of hypertension or misdiagnosis of hypertension.
Rapid heart rate in Wolf Parkinson White syndrome: Wolf Parkinson White syndrome can present with anything form mild chest discomfort or palpitations to severe cardiopulmonary compromise or cardiac arrest. Occasionally, electrocardiographic evidence of a disease is discovered on routine ECG. The patient may have a rapid heart rate of 250 beats per minute often associated with hypotension. Many patients are not aware of the underlying condition. The physician may misdiagnose the condition as a case of atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation and ventricular fibrillation.
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome or confirming a diagnosis of Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome, it is useful to consider what other medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative conditions relevant to diagnosis. These alternate diagnoses of Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome may already have been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome. For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases, see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
What do you think about the features of this website? Take our user survey and have your say:
Next articles:
Tools & Services:
Medical Articles:
Search Specialists by State and City
By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use. Information provided on this site is for informational purposes only; it is not intended as a substitute for advice from your own medical team. The information on this site is not to be used for diagnosing or treating any health concerns you may have - please contact your physician or health care professional for all your medical needs. Please see our Terms of Use.
Copyright © 2009 Health Grades Inc. All rights reserved.
Parkinson's disease affects over 1 million people in the United States, and though there is no cure, there are various treatment options...
The causes of Parkinson's disease—a progressive disorder of the nervous system—are still a mystery to modern medicine. But years of...
For years, researchers have been working to find a cure for Parkinson's disease. The answer is still out of reach, but investigators have...
Parkinson's disease poses tremendous challenges to both patients and their caregivers. Fortunately doctors have a number of effective treatments...