While the overall prognosis of syncope is favorable, the identification of individuals with a potentially life-threatening cause is of paramount importance. Cardiac syncope is associated with an elevated risk of mortality, and includes both primary arrhythmic and obstructive etiologies. Identification of these individuals is contingent on careful clinical assessment and judicious use of diagnostic investigations. This article focuses on life-threatening causes of syncope and a diagnostic approach to facilitate their identification.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ccl.2012.10.005 | DOI Listing |
Curr Vasc Pharmacol
January 2025
Department of Cardiology, Athens University School of Medicine, Athens, Greece.
Introduction/objective: Atrial fibrillation (AF) could present with slow ventricular-response; bradycardia could facilitate the emergence of AF. The conviction that one "does not succumb" from bradycardia as an escape rhythm will emerge unless one sustains a fatal injury following syncope is in stark difference with ventricular tachyarrhythmia (VA), which may promptly cause cardiac arrest. However, this is not always the case, as a life-threatening situation may emerge during the bradycardic episode, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJACC Clin Electrophysiol
November 2024
Department of Cardiology, AZ Sin Jan Bruges, Bruges, Belgium. Electronic address:
Background: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is generally associated with life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Supraventricular arrhythmias are an accepted cause of SCD in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and complex congenital heart disease. However, the role of atrial tachyarrhythmias (ATAs) in SCD in patients with structurally normal hearts is unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Case Rep
December 2024
School and Graduate Institute of Nursing, China Medical University, Taichung City, Taiwan.
BACKGROUND Pacemaker implantation serves as a prevalent therapeutic approach for bradycardia or atrioventricular blocks associated with syncope. While generally regarded as safe, this procedure is not devoid of rare yet severe complications. Examples include lead-induced cardiac perforation resulting in pneumothorax or pericardial effusion, which pose life-threatening risks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Acad Emerg Med
November 2024
Aortic dissection (AD), a life-threatening cardiovascular emergency, is characterized by the separation of the aorta's inner and middle layers due to a tear in the intima. It is classified as Stanford type A or B based on the tear's location and extent. Symptoms vary but commonly include severe pain in the chest, back, or abdomen, along with atypical presentations such as shock, heart failure, or syncope.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
November 2024
Internal Medicine, UChicago Medicine AdventHealth, La Grange, USA.
This report presents a 76-year-old male patient who developed indolent right-sided upper and lower extremity weakness and low back pain following a fall that resulted in no trauma and was not prompted by syncope or vertigo. Imaging revealed a chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH) with midline shift, for which the patient underwent craniotomy and middle meningeal artery (MMA) embolization. Despite initial intervention, the patient experienced rare and severe complications, including the recurrence of a subdural hematoma (SDH), the development of an epidural hematoma, and frontal lobe herniation.
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