BACKGROUND with increasing age, causes of syncope are more often of cardiac origin. Syncope in older persons is often mistaken for falls. Data regarding the association between specific cardiovascular conditions, falls and syncope are limited. METHODS cross-sectional analyses within a population sample aged 50+ (n = 8,173). Syncope and falls in the past year, cardiovascular conditions and co-...

BACKGROUND Syncope accounts for about 1-2% of emergency department visits, but the etiology in many patients with syncope is unclear. Recently, with the use of the head-up tilt test (HUT), the number of patients with unexplained syncope (UPS) has been decreasing; however, the spectrum of underlying diseases of syncope in children is unclear. This retrospective study aimed to analyze the spectru...

primary cardiac tumors are quite rare, especially in the pediatric age group, and their atypical presentations often prevent a timely diagnosis. most primary cardiac tumors in the pediatric age group are benign. fibromas are generally reported as the second most common primary cardiac tumors in the pediatric age group. these neoplasms are often intramural and involve the left ventricular free w...

BACKGROUND Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is a potentially fatal disease with high mortality. Prior studies have shown an increased frequency of central localization of the clot, right ventricular dysfunction and elevated troponin in patients who present with syncope and APE. Existing evidence regarding mortality and length of hospital stay in these patients is unclear. METHODS We retrospecti...

Syncope and near-syncope are great diagnostic challenges in medicine. On the one hand, the symptom may result from a benign condition and pose little or no threat to health other than that related to falling. On the other hand, syncope or near-syncope can be the manifestation of a serious underlying condition that poses an imminent threat to life. Patients with a cardiac cause of syncope are at...

to determine breath- holding spells (bhs) prevalence and risk factors in under 6- year- old children, we interviewed mothers of 400 children in a cross- sectional study in 5 health centers at south of tehran in autumn 1999. 33 children (8.25%) had history of bhs (male: 19, female: 14 25 cases were between 2-4 years old (mean: 40±17 months). seventy percent of cases (23) had onset of attacks aft...

BACKGROUND The risk of syncope occurring while driving has obvious implications for personal and public safety. We aimed to define the clinical characteristics, causes, and prognosis of syncope while driving. METHODS AND RESULTS In this case-control study of consecutive patients evaluated for syncope from 1996 through 1998 at an academic medical center, we documented causes, clinical characte...

Syncope is a common problem that many clinicians may encounter in various outpatient settings. Neurally mediated syncopal syndrome includes carotid sinus syndrome, situational syncope, and neurocardiogenic syncope (also known as vasovagal syncope), which is the most common cause of syncope in both children and adults, accounting for 50-66% of unexplained syncope. 2 The distinction between neuro...

Dear Editor: Syncope is a serious problem with life-time prevalence of 35% (1). It is estimated that 1 -3% of referrals to emergency departments and in-patient admissions are due to syncope (2). The underlying conditions can be cardiac or neurologic. Considering the completely different circumstances ruling the encounters with cardiac and neurologic syncope, in recent years many attempts have b...

Syncope is a transient and abrupt loss of consciousness with complete return to preexisting neurologic function. It is classified as neurally mediated (i.e., carotid sinus hypersensitivity, situational, or vasovagal), cardiac, orthostatic, or neurogenic. Older adults are more likely to have orthostatic, carotid sinus hypersensitivity, or cardiac syncope, whereas younger adults are more likely t...