Blunted Chronotropic Response to Hypotension in Cough Syncope.

Objectives: This study compared hemodynamic and chronotropic responses to cough in cough syncope (CS) patients to those in control subjects.

Background: Cough syncope is an uncommon form of situational fainting variously attributed to both reflex and mechanical causes. We hypothesized that if baroreflex responses contribute to CS, post-cough hypotension should be associated with cardioinhibition comparable to that observed in other reflex faints.

Cardiac pauses in competitive athletes: a systematic review examining the basis of current practice recommendations.

Aims: It is generally recommended that individuals aspiring to competitive sports should undergo pre-participation cardiovascular assessment, particularly including arrhythmia risk evaluation. In regard to bradyarrhythmias, the 36th Bethesda Conference suggested that asymptomatic cardiac pauses ≤3 s are 'probably of no significance', whereas longer 'symptomatic' pauses may be abnormal. This study focused on assessing the evidence for the '3 s' threshold.

Risk Stratification of Patients Presenting with Transient Loss of Consciousness.

Important goals in the initial evaluation of patients with transient loss of consciousness include determining whether the episode was syncope and choosing the venue for subsequent care. Patients who have high short-term risk of adverse outcomes need prompt hospitalization for diagnosis and/or treatment, whereas others may be safely referred for outpatient evaluation. This article summarizes the most important available risk assessment studies and points out key differences among the existing recommendations.

Syncope: classification and risk stratification.

Background: Syncope is one of the most common reasons for emergency department and urgent care clinic visits. The management of syncope continues to be a challenging problem for front-line providers inasmuch as there are a multitude of possible causes for syncope ranging from relatively benign conditions to potentially life-threatening ones. In any event, it is important to identify those syncope patients who are at immediate risk of life-threatening events; these individuals require prompt hospitalization and thorough evaluation.

Atrial fibrillation and heart failure: intersecting populations, morbidities, and mortality.

Heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) are the only two cardiovascular disorders that continue to increase in magnitude in the United States. The purpose of this brief overview is to provide a description of these two cardiovascular epidemics of HF and AF as they interact, and to provide additional information regarding the emerging influence of genetics and environment in the development of AF in the HF setting. These two modern epidemics are highly interactive and highly age-dependent.

Haematological, neurological and electrocardiographic findings in secondary hypothermia.

The association between secondary hypothermia and pancytopaenia is uncommon. A young woman presented with chronic hypothermia (28.8-34.

Vasodepressor cough syncope masked by sleep apnea-induced asystole.

Vasodepressor Cough Syncope.  Cough syncope is classified among the neural-reflex "situational" faints, but whether the clinical consequences in affected individuals result from reflex triggered bradyarrhythmia or vasodepressor-induced hypotension, or both, is often unknown. In this report we describe findings in a patient with a clinical history consistent with cough syncope, and in whom documented multiple asystolic spells were at first believed to be responsible for symptoms.