Intracardiac electrophysiologic techniques in recurrent syncope of unknown case.
Twenty-five patients with recurrent episodes of syncope, unexplained despite thorough medical and neurologic evaluation, underwent intracardiac electrophysiologic study with programmed stimulation. Electrophysiologic study yielded a presumptive diagnosis in 17 patients: nine with rapid ventricular tachycardia by programmed stimulation, three with intra-His conduction delays, one with symptomatic atrial flutter, one with sick sinus syndrome, and three with persistent hypervagotonia manifested as atropine-reversible prolongation of atrioventricular nodal refractoriness. Therapy based on these findings provided complete symptomatic relief in 14 and improvement in one of these 17 patients during a mean follow-up of 18 +/- 10 months. Therapy based on electrophysiologic testing was ineffective in two of the 17 patients. Syncope persisted in four of the eight patients in whom electrophysiologic study did not define a probable arrhythmic mechanism. These observations indicate that full electrophysiologic evaluation with programmed stimulation is useful in the diagnosis and therapy of recurrent unexplained syncope.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D013575:Syncope / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*