Page 9 - Healthbeat Sept 2016

Upon learning about her diagnosis, Morgan McAlexander said she felt as if it could not happen to her, but she was able to quickly return to playing the sports that she loves.
scheduled for cardiac ablation procedures the same day.” During the ablation procedures, both twins had the same reaction and went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated. Both reverted back to normal heart rhythms once the short circuits in their hearts were eliminated. Nair said the discovery of their condition helped solidify just how similar the identical twins are. “They are identical in almost every way, including the exact location of their heart where this condition
was found,” he said.
This similarity goes along with the girls’ hobbies,
taste in music and, now, the diagnosis of Wolff Parkinson White syndrome.
According to mayoclinic.org, Wolff Parkinson White syndrome is defined as “an extra electrical pathway between your heart’s upper chambers (atria) and lower chambers (ventricles) [that] causes a rapid heart beat (tachycardia).” The website states that the extra electrical pathway is present at birth and is detected in about one in 25,000 people, who include all ages.
Typically, the problem can be resolved through a catheter-based procedure, known as ablation, to permanently correct the issue. This is the procedure that Morgan and Bailey underwent.
Symptoms of Wolff Parkinson White syndrome include heart palpitations, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting, fatigue during exercise and anxiety. The symptoms often occur during exercise but can also
THESE GIRLS HAVE SHOWN MANY HIGH SCHOOL
ATHLETES AROUND ARKANSAS THAT YOU CAN EXPERIENCE SETBACKS, EVEN LIFE-THREATENING ONES, BUT STILL COME BACK AS GOOD AS EVER. THEY HAVE BROUGHT A LOT OF PUBLICITY TO THE YEARLY ATHLETE’S PHYSICALS, WHICH ARE PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE BY ST. BERNARDS, DEMONSTRATING THE IMPORTANCE AND NEED FOR THEM.”
BYRON CATO
TENNIS PROFESSIONAL/PRIVATE COACH JONESBORO COUNTRY CLLUB
disappear after a period of time in some cases.
In most cases, such as the twins’, people don’t notice any symptoms at all, and the condition is only discovered when someone undergoes a heart exam for other reasons. While the condition can be harmless to many people, it is often recommended that those who participate in high-intensity sports
undergo a further evaluation.
Nair said that sudden cardiac death claims the
life of an American athlete every three days. For this reason, it was crucial that the girls undergo the procedure to correct the problem.
Other than the girls enjoying sports, Morgan hinted that athletics could have possibly saved their lives.
“Sports was actually the reason it was discovered because physicals are required to play each year; the fact we went to the St. Bernards Medical Group Health Expo physicals with our other high school teammates meant we got an EKG with our physical,” she said. “The EKG is the only way [the condition] would have been detected in a physical.”
Despite hearing the news of the scary diagnosis, the girls’ focus was getting back to playing soccer, the sport that was in season at the time, and helping their teammates succeed. Bailey said the main thing was just to wait until they could return to the game.
“It was there one day — had actually been there our whole lives but was undetected until then — and gone
Bailey McAlexander said she thought somebody was playing a joke on her when she was told about her diagnosis. A mere week later, she was able to continue being a part of the many championship teams she is on.
the next,” she said. “So the main part of it was waiting for the incision site to heal. It was something I had to deal with and then move on; it could’ve happened to anyone.”
Both girls were adamant to return to the field as soon as possible, and they did. In fact, the twins attended the team’s soccer practice the day after their surgeries to watch the practice and were back on the field just a week after the procedures were done. Once they returned, they even managed to lead their team to its third state championship, and this was just in their freshman year of high school.
The girls have been successful in all the sports they have played, with their teams earning the 2013 4A state championship in volleyball and tennis, while the twins were also the 4A doubles champions in tennis that year. In 2014, the girls’ volleyball team, tennis team and doubles tennis team were all state runners-up. In 2015, their volleyball team won the state championship again, while the twins were runners-up in doubles tennis once again. The girls hope to continue their athletic success during their senior seasons this year.
Their personalities and willingness to succeed were part of what allowed the twins to return to the field so quickly and almost seamlessly overcome the adversity of Wolff Parkinson White syndrome. Byron Cato, tennis
SEE TWINS, PAGE 10
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