Stretch syncope in adolescence.
We describe 6 adolescents with syncope induced by stretching with the neck hyperextended. Studies of the cardiovascular responses to stretching and Valsalva in these patients were the same as controls, indicating that the mechanism is not simply Valsalva but may also involve vertebral artery compression coupled with a familial tendency to faint.
Pelekanos
J T
JT
Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Izaak Walton Killam Children's Hospital, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Dooley
J M
JM
Camfield
P R
PR
Finley
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture; D013575:Syncope / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D013610:Tachycardia; D014636:Valsalva Maneuver