title: Carotid sinus "irritability" rather than hypersensitivity: a new name for an old syndrome?
abstract: Carotid sinus hypersensitivity (CSH) is a well-described cause of syncope, resulting in bradycardia and/or hypotension in response to neck pressure. The authors hypothesized that (CSH) represents an inappropriate response of the baroreflex system to a nonphysiologic stimulus, rather than a truly hypersensitive carotid sinus (ie, excessive vagotonia and sympathoinhibition in response to arterial hypertension). To test their hypothesis, the authors used a neck chamber to deliver stepped, R-wave-triggered changes in transmural carotid sinus pressure, from +40 to -60 mm Hg, during a single held expiration. The authors studied 7 men (age 69 +/- 8y; mean age +/- SD) with carotid sinus syndrome and 10 age- and sex-matched controls. Seven repetitions of pressure changes were averaged, and the carotid sinus response described by changes in the R-R interval. There was no statistical difference in carotid-cardiac baroreflex gain (R-R interval/pressure change; mean gain +/- SD, 3.0 +/- 2.1 msec/mm Hg and 2.2 +/- 3.0 msec/mm Hg, respectively) or other markers of carotid baroreflex responses between the subjects and controls. These preliminary results suggest that (CSH) may not be a "hypersensitive" reflex, but rather an inappropriate response, or "irritability," of the baroreflex system to nonphysiologic deformation of the carotid sinus and/or surrounding tissues.
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, Texas 75231, USA.
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zuckerman
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Levine
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D017704:Baroreflex / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002346:Carotid Sinus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011312:Pressure; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013575:Syncope / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*