INTRODUCTION Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are increasingly being used in high-risk long QT syndrome (LQTS) patients, but there are limited data regarding clinical experience with this therapeutic modality. The aim of this study is to describe the clinical characteristics of 125 LQTS patients treated with ICDs compared with LQTS patients having similar risk indications who were...

Recurrent syncope is a common clinical problem. Patients with recurrent syncope frequently undergo extensive investigations that consume significant health care resources. Nevertheless, in a large percentage of patients syncope remains unexplained. The implantable loop recorder is a recognized diagnostic tool that can provide a definitive diagnosis and thus permit specific treatment. We present...

To obtain epidemiologic information regarding syncope, 2336 men and 2873 women aged 30 to 62 years at entry to the study were evaluated for syncope. During 26 years of surveillance, evidence of cardiac or neurologic morbidity and mortality was also recorded. At least one syncopal episode was reported by 71 (3.0%) of the men and 101 (3.5%) of the women during the course of the study. Criteria fo...

BACKGROUND Women with congenital long-QT syndrome experience an increased risk for cardiac events after the onset of adolescence that is more pronounced among carriers of the LQT2 genotype. We hypothesized that the hormonal changes associated with menopause may affect clinical risk in this population. METHODS AND RESULTS We used a repeated-events analysis to evaluate the risk for recurrent sy...

One of the leading causes of death in young adults in some countries, Brugada syndrome has been the focus of many clinical and research investigations since 1992.1 Large prospective cohort studies have advanced our knowledge of this syndrome. We now know that Brugada syndrome is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by mutations in the cardiac sodium channel (e.g., SCN5A) that result in o...

Cough syncope typically occurs in middle aged and senior, muscularly built males with a history of chronic obstructive lung disease. Originally, cough syncope was thought to be a form of epilepsy and only in the 1940s it was recognized to be of syncopal nature. The circulatory pathophysiology is, however, still not fully understood. We present data on two cough syncope patients in whom we docum...

AIMS The implantation of an implantable loop recorder (ILR) leads to the diagnosis in about 35% of patients with syncope of unknown origin. Information on outcome of patients in whom a diagnosis is not reached during the lifetime of the device is scarce. The aim of our study is to determine the outcome of these patients in terms of syncope recurrence and survival. METHODS AND RESULTS An ILR w...

Pediatric syncope is a common problem that peaks in adolescence, for which there are few data or evidence-based consensus on investigation and management. This document offers guidance for practical evaluation/management of pediatric patients (age < 19 years) with syncope encountered in the acute or primary care setting. The writing committee used the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Dev...

Autonomic dysfunction seems to play a central role in the pathophysiology of neurocardiogenic syncope (NCS) but conflicting data have recently become available. We evaluated autonomic nervous system (ANS) function (heart rate variability (HRV), systolic blood pressure variability (SBPV) and baroreceptor gain (BRG)) and non-invasive haemodynamics (cardiac output and total peripheral resistance) ...

BACKGROUND The efficacy of dual-chamber cardiac pacing in neuro-mediated reflex syncope with a cardio-inhibitory response to the Tilt-Table test (TT) has not been definitively assessed so far. The lack of reproducibility of results from previous studies may be partially explained by discrepancies in subject selection and some weaknesses in design and methods. The European Society of Cardiology ...