[Heart rate variability in the elderly with syncope or falls of uncertain origin].
Presyncope, syncope and falls in undetermined circumstances are frequent among the elderly. They may be caused by orthostatic hypotension secondary to autonomic insufficiency. Tilt-tests and determination of catecholamines in serum and urine may establish the diagnosis, but often may not be feasible in these patients. A simple, indirect, noninvasive technique to assess autonomic insufficiency is analysis of heart rate variability during Holter-monitoring. We present 5 cases in which it proved useful in the investigation of spells of unconsciousness.
Dept. of Geriatric Medicine and Neufeld Institute of Cardiology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer.
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Semo
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Feldman
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Adunsky
D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007024:Hypotension, Orthostatic; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000503:physiopathology; D013575:Syncope / Q000209:etiology*