Wolff-Parkinson-White(WPW)syndromeisacongenitaldisorderofcardiacconductionsystemcharacterizedbyelectrocardiographicpreexcitationandepisodesofparoxysmalsupraventriculartachycardia.Itiscausedbyacardiacdevelopmentaldefectintheelectricalinsulationbetweentheatriaandtheventriclesduetothepresenceofanaccessorypathway.WPWsyndromeisacommoncauseofsupraventriculartachycardiawithbenignprognosis.However,thisclinicalentityalsopredisposespatientstoanincreasedriskofsuddencardiacdeath,especiallyinthesettingofpreexcitedatrialfibrillation.WPWsyndromeisusuallysporadicandofunknownetiologyinmostcases.Duringthepast10years,asignificantheritablefactorisincreasinglyrecognized.IdentificationofthegeneticbasisamongpatientswithWPWsyndromehasimportantimplicationsforunderstandingthemolecularmechanismofventricularpreexcitationandthedevelopmentoftherapeuticstrategiesforriskstratificationandmanagement.Thegoalofthisreviewistoexaminethepreviousstudiesonhereditaryvariants,aswellastooutlinepotentialfutureavenuestowarddefiningtheheritabilityofWPWsyndrome.
