Background: Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome is a congenital cardiac pre-excitation syndrome characterized by symptoms like palpitations, syncope, and life-threatening arrhythmia. Pregnancy further complicates the pathology of WPW syndrome, making the pregnant woman more susceptible to life-threatening arrhythmia.
Case presentation: A 29-year-old parturient with WPW syndrome presented for an emergency cesarean section at term given cord prolapse and fetal bradycardia, planned under general anesthesia. Perioperative management aimed to prevent tachyarrhythmia, and preparedness with appropriate drugs and equipment was kept on standby, ensuring we achieved a favorable outcome in this case.
Conclusions: WPW syndrome in pregnancy is a rare phenomenon, with very few case reports with general anaesthesia. This report helps in highlighting the important aspects of anesthetic management of WPW in pregnancy under general anesthesia, such as the perioperative risk of tachyarrhythmias and subsequent hemodynamic compromise, and limited resource management of such cases