Head-upright tilt test: a new method of evaluating syncope.
Syncope and near-syncope account for up to 600,000 visits to emergency departments or physicians' offices each year. Syncope is a prognostic indicator of early mortality. Although $750 million is spent each year to evaluate patients with syncope, 40 to 50 percent of cases elude diagnosis. The head-upright tilt test is a new tool for evaluating patients who are susceptible to vasovagal syncope. In susceptible patients, this test may reproduce the symptoms and signs of previous syncopal episodes. It can also help differentiate convulsive syncope from epilepsy. Patient education, medical therapy and even pacemaker placement may be effective in controlling the episodes in patients with recurrent vasovagal syncope.
Wolfe
D A
DA
Medical College of Ohio, Toledo.
Grubb
B P
BP
Kimmel
S R
SR
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003663:Decision Trees; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005194:Family Practice / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006257:Head; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007545:Isoproterenol; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011187:Posture; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015996:Survival Rate; D013575:Syncope / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology
D007545:Isoproterenol