well,
have finally been back to the electro-cardiologist and he says that he is quite certain that i don't have wpw! hooray! apparently, my heart just beats a little differently to the norm and this gives it a 'psuedo' wave. (replicates but isn't wpw)
however, he said, given my career aspirations and that this will be picked up in the future, we ought to do a definative study. basically this means undergoing the same procedure that one has for catheter ablation, and he will actually 'look' in my heart. he said that this will prove if i have the condition either way, and that if he finds that i do, he can perform the ablation right then and there, thereby eliminating the condition. well, a very high chance of successfully doing so.
so good news for me all round, except for the fact that i must now wait on a list for this procedure, atleast it's free and my dream only deferred by a few months and all but lost! gives me time to work and recoup the funds spent on the specialists!
so in my experience, which granted isn't loads, anyone out there who is worrying like i was up 'til a few days ago, about having wpw, don't. afterall, worst case scenario is that you do have the condition and you undergo the procedure and have a flying chance of being given the all clear. its that or you don't have it!
the casa ame's handbook notes are in one my previous posts above and outlines the mandatory monitoring of a pilot that has had ablation that had wpw. it is quite reasonable.
also, my ame called me before i had my consultation with the electro-cardiologist and informed me that whilst at a casa ame's seminar recently, he mentioned my circumstance to a casa bloke and was told that an application from me was still well worth it and i still stood a solid chance of being able to fly. and that was before the good news from the electro-cardio dude!
anyway, i'm no doc (as i'm sure is apparent), infact im not even yet a pilot, but it looks like i will be. and i am happy to talk to anyone who is in the same bird as me about my career threatening experience of late!
happy flying, or future gazing in my case, to all! look forward to joining you and checkin' out the view!
cheers
av.ascent