Reflex syncope: Diagnosis and treatment
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Published version
Author(s)
Sutton, Richard
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
For the diagnosis of reflex syncope, diligent history-building with the patient and a witness is required. In the Emergency Department (ED), the assessment of syncope is a challenge which may be addressed by an ED Observation Unit or by a referral to a Syncope Unit. Hospital admission is necessary for those with life-threatening cardiac conditions although risk stratification remains an unsolved problem. Other patients may be investigated with less urgency by carotid sinus massage (>40 years), tilt testing, and electrocardiogram loop recorder insertion resulting in a clear cause for syncope. Management includes, in general terms, patient education, avoidance of circumstances in which syncope is likely, increase in fluid and salt consumption, and physical counter-pressure maneuvers. In older patients, those that will benefit from cardiac pacing are now well defined. In all patients, the benefit of drug therapy is often disappointing and there remains no ideal drug. A role for catheter ablation may emerge for the highly symptomatic reflex syncope patient.
Date Issued
2017-05-17
Date Acceptance
2017-03-27
Citation
Journal of Arrhythmia, 2017, 33 (6), pp.545-552
ISSN
1880-4276
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
545
End Page
552
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Arrhythmia
Volume
33
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
2017 Japanese Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Cardiovascular System & Cardiology
NEURALLY-MEDIATED SYNCOPE
HEAD-UP TILT
IMPLANTABLE LOOP RECORDER
CAROTID-SINUS SYNDROME
UNCERTAIN ETIOLOGY ISSUE-3
COUNTER-PRESSURE MANEUVERS
PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL
VASOVAGAL SYNCOPE
UNEXPLAINED SYNCOPE
DOUBLE-BLIND
Publication Status
Published