Dual-chamber pacing is a promising treatment for patients with very frequent vasovagal syncope, but its cost utility is unknown. We report that the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained is $13,159 Canadian dollars (about $8,600 US dollars), and therefore this pacemaker therapy for vasovagal syncope has a favorable cost-utility ratio.

We described the clinical evolution of patients with structural heart disease presenting at the emergency room with syncope. Patients were stratified according to their syncope etiology and available scores for syncope prognostication. Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate the relationship between etiology of the syncope and event-free survival. Of the 82,678 emergency visits ...

(Hellenic Journal of Cardiology) HJC ñ 61 I solated vasovagal syncope (VVS) is not a disease, but rather the clinical manifestation of an autonomic reflex to which all (or almost all) individuals are predisposed. Why certain subjects appear to be more susceptible than others to the development of paradoxical hypotension and bradycardia, and why the event occurs at one time and not another, rema...

There has been a great deal of interest in the therapeutic role of beta-adrenergic blockade in patients suffering from vasovagal syncope. The efficacy of beta-blockers in these patients may be due to blunting of elevated catecholamine levels that precede vasovagal syncope (1). Notwithstanding the widespread use of beta-blockers in the past, some studies on chronic beta-blocker use have been les...

AIMS The hypotensive reflex responsible for vasovagal syncope appears related to a reduction in sympathetic neural outflow. Several animal studies suggest that serotonin may play a role in the genesis of this reflex, through inhibition of sympathetic activity. However, the role of the serotonergic system is unknown in humans. The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of the serotoner...

Syncope is an important symptom that though most commonly benign, deserves extensive evaluation since it can also be caused at times by life threatening causes that are potentially treatable. An important cause of syncope is symptomatic bradycardia either due to sick sinus syndrome or atrioventricular block that is treated easily by pacemaker therapy. However, the most common cause of syncope i...

30 Vasovagal syncope is a disorder that has been known for years since its clinical characteristics were masterfully described by Sir Thomas Lewis at the beginning of the 20th century.1 Traditionally, the criteria used to establish the diagnosis of a vasovagal origin in patients with syncopal episodes was based only on the presence of triggering circumstances and typical prodromic symptoms. In ...

OBJECTIVES This study was done to evaluate pacemaker therapy for severe recurrent vasovagal syncope. BACKGROUND Nonrandomized studies have suggested that permanent pacing might help control the symptoms of recurrent vasovagal syncope. The study goal was to evaluate the effect of permanent pacemaker implantation on syncope in patients with frequently recurrent vasovagal syncope. METHODS Pati...

Syncope is a sudden and transient loss of consciousness and postural tone, with spontaneous recovery without medical intervention. It accounts for 1.0% to 1.5% of emergency department (ED) visits and up to 6% of hospital admissions. Vasovagal syncope may be the cause of syncope in 21% to 40% of cases. A 53-year-old Chinese woman was brought to the ED by ambulance after a near-syncope episode wh...

30 Vasovagal syncope is a disorder that has been known for years since its clinical characteristics were masterfully described by Sir Thomas Lewis at the beginning of the 20th century.1 Traditionally, the criteria used to establish the diagnosis of a vasovagal origin in patients with syncopal episodes was based only on the presence of triggering circumstances and typical prodromic symptoms. In ...