Abstract
Syncope is a common problem costing the medical system nearly 2.5 billion dollars each year. Mechanistically, it is a manifestation of global cerebral hypoperfusion, which comprises a common pathway of numerous underlying pathologies. These can range from benign conditions such as hypovolemia to malignant disorders such as ventricular tachycardia. Many other causes of loss of consciousness can also mimic and be erroneously diagnosed as syncope. Distinguishing between these various culprit etiologies can be challenging, but is critical to the accurate diagnosis and subsequent management of syncope.
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Abbreviations
- AS:
-
Aortic stenosis
- BP:
-
Blood pressure
- CSP:
-
Carotid sinus pressure
- CSS:
-
Carotid sinus syndrome
- CT:
-
Computed tomography
- CVA:
-
Cerebrovascular accident
- ECG:
-
Electrocardiogram
- ED:
-
Emergency department
- ELR:
-
External loop recorder
- ESC:
-
European Society of Cardiology
- HCM:
-
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- ILR:
-
Implantable loop recorder
- LVOT:
-
Left ventricular outflow tract
- MCOT:
-
Mobile cardiac outpatient telemetry
- MI:
-
Myocardial infarction
- MRI:
-
Magnetic resonance imaging
- MS:
-
Mitral stenosis
- PCI:
-
Percutaneous coronary intervention
- PE:
-
Pulmonary embolus
- proBNP:
-
Pro-brain natriuretic peptide
- SSRI:
-
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
- TdP:
-
Torsades de pointes
- TIA:
-
Transient ischemic attack
- TLOC:
-
Transient loss of consciousness
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Yang, S., Zimetbaum, P. (2020). Syncope. In: Wells, B., Quintero, P., Southmayd, G. (eds) Handbook of Inpatient Cardiology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47868-1_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47868-1_26
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