This document provides an overview of syncope by Dr. Mohammed Lukman Abolaji. It defines syncope and discusses the pathophysiology, including how a loss of cerebral blood flow can cause loss of consciousness. It outlines the most common causes or etiologies of syncope including reflex or neurally mediated syncope, orthostatic hypotension, and cardiac syncope. It emphasizes that obtaining a thorough history and physical examination is important for evaluating syncope and determining its underlying cause in 50-85% of patients.

1. SYNCOPE: AN OVERVIEW
BY
DR MOHAMMED LUKMAN ABOLAJI
DEPERTMENT OF FAMILY MEDICINE,AKTH, KANO.

2. SYNOPSIS
• INTRODUCTION
• PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
• ETIOLOGY
• EVALUATION OF SYNCOPE
• TREATMENT
• DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSES
• PROGNOSIS
• PATIENT EDUCATION
• REFERENCES

3. INTRODUCTION
• Syncope is defined as a transient, self-limited loss of consciousness
with an inability to maintain postural tone that is followed by
spontaneous recovery.
• The term syncope excludes seizures, coma, shock, or other states of
altered consciousness.
• Syncope is a prevalent disorder, accounting for 1-3% of emergency
department (ED) visits and as many as 6% of hospital admissions each
year in the United States. As much as 50% of the population may
experience a syncopal event during their lifetime.

4. IINTRODUCTION
• Although many etiologies for syncope are recognized, categorization
into reflex (neurally mediated), orthostatic, and cardiac
(cardiovascular) may be helpful during the initial evaluation.
• Cardiac syncope is associated with increased mortality.Syncope may
result in significant morbidity and disability due to falls or accidents
that occur as a result.
• Most causes of syncope are benign, this symptom presages a life-
threatening event in a small subset of patients.

5. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
• Syncope occurs as a consequence of global cerebral hypo-perfusion.
Brain parenchyma depends on adequate blood flow to provide a
constant supply of glucose, the primary metabolic substrate.
• Brain tissue cannot store energy in the form of the high-energy
phosphates found elsewhere in the body; consequently, a cessation
of cerebral perfusion lasting only 3-5 seconds can result in syncope.
• Cerebral perfusion is maintained relatively constant by an intricate
and complex feedback system involving cardiac output (CO), systemic
vascular resistance (SVR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), intravascular
volume status, cerebrovascular resistance with intrinsic
autoregulation, and metabolic regulation.

6. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
• A clinically significant defect in any one of these systems or subclinical
defects in several of them may cause syncope.
• CO can be diminished secondary to mechanical outflow obstruction,
pump failure, hemodynamically significant arrhythmias, or
conduction defects.
• SVR can drop secondary to vasomotor instability, autonomic failure,
or vasodepressor/vasovagal response.
• MAP decreases with all causes of hypovolemia. Medications can
affect CO, SVR, or MAP.

7. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
• Other conditions can mimic syncope.
• A CNS event, such as a hemorrhage or an unwitnessed seizure, can
present as syncope.
• Syncope can occur without reduction in cerebral blood flow in
patients who have severe metabolic derangements (eg,
hypoglycemia, hyponatremia, hypoxemia, hypercarbia).

8. ETIOLOGY
• Cardiac (cardiopulmonary) syncope may be due to vascular disease,
cardiomyopathy, arrhythmia, or valvular dysfunction and predicts a
worse short-term and long-term prognosis.
• Cardiac outflow obstruction may also result in sudden-onset syncope
with little or no prodrome.
• Exertional nature, and the presence of a cardiac murmur are clues
• Young athletes may present with this etiology for syncope. Specific
pathology includes aortic stenosis, hypertrophic obstructive
cardiomyopathy, mitral stenosis, pulmonary stenosis, pulmonary
embolus, left atrial myxoma, and pericardial tamponade.

9. ETIOLOGY
• Syncope can also result from an acute myocardial infarction (MI),
acute aortic dissection, and pulmonary embolus.
• These conditions can have associated chest pain, neck pain, shoulder
pain, dyspnea, epigastric pain, hypotension, alteration of mental
status and can result in sudden death.
• Ventricular arrhythmias, such as ventricular tachycardia and torsade
de pointes, tend to occur in older patients with known cardiac
disease. These patients tend to have fewer recurrences and have a
more sudden onset with few, if any, pre-syncopal symptoms.
Associated chest pain or dyspnea may be present.

10. ETIOLOGY
• Vasovagal syncope is the most common type in young adults but can
occur at any age.
• It usually occurs in a standing position and is precipitated by fear,
emotional stress, or pain (eg, after a needlestick).
• Autonomic symptoms are predominant. Classically, nausea,
diaphoresis, fading or "graying out" of vision, epigastric discomfort,
and light-headedness precede syncope by a few minutes.
• The syncope is thought to occur secondary to efferent vasodepressor
reflexes by a number of mechanisms, resulting in decreased
peripheral vascular resistance. It is not life-threatening and occurs
sporadically.

11. ETIOLOGY
• Situational syncope is essentially a reproducible vasovagal syncope
with a known precipitant.
• Micturition, defecation, deglutition, tussive, and carotid sinus
syncope are types of situational syncope.
• These stimuli result in autonomic reflexes with a vasodepressor
response, ultimately leading to transient cerebral hypotension.
• These are not life-threatening but can cause morbidity. The treatment
involves avoidance of the precipitant when possible and the initiation
of counter maneuvers when anticipated.

12. ETIOLOGY
• Syncope due to orthostatic hypotension can occur through several
mechanisms.
• Pure autonomic failure can be associated with Parkinson disease or
dementia. Secondary autonomic insufficiency can be due to diabetes,
uremia, or spinal injury.
• Drugs such as alcohol cause orthostatic intolerance, and medications
such as vasodilators and antidepressants block orthostatic reflexes.
• Volume depletion due to blood loss, vomiting, diarrhea, poor oral
intake, and diuretics also causes orthostatic syncope.

13. ETIOLOGY
• Dehydration and decreased intravascular volume contribute to
orthostasis. Orthostatic syncope describes a causative relation
between orthostatic hypotension and syncope.
• Orthostatic hypotension increases in prevalence with age as a blunted
baroreceptor response results in failure of compensatory
cardioacceleration.
• Orthostasis is a common cause of syncope and tends to be recurrent.
Bedside orthostatics cannot exclude this as an etiology; if it is
suspected, patients should be referred to a primary care provider for
outpatient tilt-table testing.

14. ETIOLOGY
• Syncope reoccurs in 3% of affected individuals, and approximately 10% of
affected individuals have a cardiac etiology. No significant differences regarding
race and gender are observed with respect to syncope risk.
• Syncope occurs in all age groups but is most common in adult populations.
• Noncardiac causes tend to be more common in young adults, whereas cardiac
syncope becomes increasingly more frequent with advancing age.
• Syncope is relatively uncommon in pediatric populations with a prevalence of less
than 0.1% .
• Advancing age is an independent risk factor for both syncope and death.
Advancing age correlates with increasing frequency of coronary artery and
myocardial disease, arrhythmia, vasomotor instability, autonomic failure,
polyneuropathy, and use of polypharmacy.

15. EVALUATION OF SYNCOPE
• History
• Physical examination
• Investigations
• History and physical examination are the most specific and sensitive ways to evaluate
syncope. The diagnosis is achieved with a thorough history and physical examination in
50-85% of patients. No single laboratory test has greater diagnostic efficacy.

16. HISTORY
• The account must include the circumstances surrounding the episode.
• Precipitating factors can include fatigue, sleep or food deprivation,
warm ambient environment, alcohol consumption, pain, and strong
emotions such as fear or apprehension.
• Activity prior to syncope may give a clue as to the etiology of
symptoms.
• Syncope may occur at rest; with change of posture; on exertion; after
exertion; or with specific situations such as shaving, coughing,
voiding, or prolonged standing.

17. HISTORY
• The following questions should be answered:
• Was loss of consciousness complete?
• Was loss of consciousness with rapid onset and short duration?
• Was recovery spontaneous, complete, and without sequelae?
• Was postural tone lost?

18. HISTORY
• Prior faintness, dizziness, or light-headedness occurs in 70% of
patients experiencing true syncope.
• Other symptoms, such as vertigo, weakness, diaphoresis, epigastric
discomfort, nausea, blurred or faded vision, pallor, or paresthesias,
may also occur in the pre-syncopal period.
• Symptoms of nausea or diaphoresis prior to the event may suggest
syncope rather than seizure when the episode was not witnessed,
whereas an aura may suggest seizure.

19. HISTORY
• Patients with true syncope do not remember actually falling to the ground.
Pre-syncope involves the same symptoms and pathophysiology but
terminates prior to loss of consciousness and can occasionally include loss
of postural tone.
• The duration of symptoms preceding a syncopal episode has been reported
to be an average of 2.5 minutes in vasovagal syncope and an average of
only 3 seconds in arrhythmia-related cardiac syncope.
• Clinicians should specifically inquire as to red-flag symptoms, such as
exertional onset, chest pain, dyspnea, low back pain, palpitations, severe
headache, focal neurologic deficits, diplopia, ataxia, or dysarthria prior to
the syncopal event.

20. HISTORY
• Medication history
• Agents that reduce BP( antihypertensives, diuretics, nitrates)
• Agents that affect CO ( B blockers, digitalis, anti-arrhythmics)
• Agents that prolong the QT interval (eg, TCA, quinidine)
• Agents that alter sensorium ( alcohol, cocaine)
• Agents that alter serum electrolytes (especially diuretics)

21. HISTORY
• Personal or familial past medical history of cardiac disease.
• Hx of MI, Arrhythmia, structural cardiac defects, cardiomyopathies, or
congestive heart failure (CHF) have a uniformly worse prognosis than
other patient groups.
• PMHx of Seizure Disorder, DM, Stroke, DVT, or AAA or if pregnancy is
a possibility.

22. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
• Complete physical examination is requisite for all patients who
present to the emergency.
• Fever may point to a precipitant of syncope, such as UTI or
pneumonia.
• Postural changes in BP and HR may point toward an orthostatic
cause of syncope but are generally unreliable.
• Tachycardia may be an indicator of PE, hypovolemia,
tachyarrhythmia, or ACS.
• Bradycardia may point toward a vasodepressor cause of syncope, a
cardiac conduction defect, or acute coronary syndrome.

23. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
• A detailed cardiopulmonary examination is essential. Irregular
rhythms, ectopy, bradyarrhythmias, and tachyarrhythmias should be
detected.
• Auscultation of heart sounds may reveal murmurs indicating high-
grade valvular defects.
• Objective evidence of congestive heart failure, including jugular
venous distension, lung rales, hepatomegaly, and pitting-dependent
edema.
• Examine the abdomen for the presence of a pulsatile abdominal
mass.

24. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
• Detailed neurologic examination assists in establishing a baseline as
well as defining new or worsening deficits.
• Patients with syncope should have a normal baseline mental status.
• Confusion, abnormal behavior, headache, fatigue, and somnolence
must not be attributed to syncope; a toxic, metabolic, or central
nervous system cause must be considered.
• The patient should have a detailed neurologic examination, including
evaluation for carotid bruits, CN deficits, motor deficits, deep tendon
reflex lateralization, and sensory deficits.

25. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
• The patient must be examined for signs of trauma. Trauma may be
sustained secondary to syncope with resultant head injury,
lacerations, and extremity fractures.
• Tongue trauma is thought to be more specific for seizures.
• Consider antecedent head trauma resulting in loss of consciousness
as opposed to syncope with resultant trauma if the history or findings
are unclear.

26. INVESTIGATION
• LAB
• Rbs
• Fbc
• Eucr
• Cardiac enzymes
• Total creatine kinase
• urinalysis
• IMAGING
• ECG
• EEG
• ECHO
• Brain CT
• MRI/MRA
• Ventilation-perfusion scanning

27. TREATMENT
• The etiology of syncope dictates the need, if any, for specialty
consultation.
• Consultation with a neurosurgeon, a neurologist, a cardiologist, a
vascular surgeon, a cardiothoracic surgeon, an endocrinologist, or a
toxicologist.

28. TREATMENT
• Intravenous (IV) access
• Oxygen administration
• Advanced airway techniques
• Glucose administration
• Pharmacologic circulatory support
• Pharmacologic or mechanical restraints
• Defibrillation or temporary pacing
• Cardiac monitoring

29. DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSES
• Vasomotor/vascular conditions
• Dehydration
• Diabetic neuropathy
• Diuresis
• Drug-induced orthostasis
• Dysautonomia
• Ectopic pregnancy
• Hemorrhage
• Hypotension
• Hypovolemia
• Cardiac conditions
• Bradydysrhythmias
• Cardiac myxoma
• Cardiac outflow obstruction
• Dysrhythmias
• Hypertrophic subaortic stenosis
• Paroxysmal SVT
• Paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia
• Primary pulmonary hypertension
• Prolonged QT syndrome
• Sick sinus syndrome

30. DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSES
• Situational conditions
• Carotid sinus syncope
• Cough (post-tussive) syncope
• Defecation syncope
• Micturition syncope
• Postprandial syncope
• Swallow syncope
• Metabolic/endocrine conditions
• Hypoglycemia
• Adrenal crisis
• Hypothyroidism
• Hypoxemia
• Pheochromocytoma

31. DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSES
• CNS conditions
• Hyperventilation syndrome
• Hydrocephalus
• Migraine headache
• Narcolepsy
• Panic attacks
• Seizure disorder

32. PROGNOSIS
• Cardiac syncope has a poorer prognosis than other forms of syncope.
Patients with cardiac syncope may be significantly restricted in their
daily activities, and the occurrence of syncope may be a symptom of
their underlying disease progression.
• Syncope of any etiology in a patient with cardiac has also been shown
to imply a poor prognosis.
• Non-cardiac syncope seems to have no effect on overall mortality and
includes syncope due to vasovagal response, autonomic insufficiency,
situations, and orthostatic positions. They are known to have
uniformly excellent prognosis.

33. PROGNOSIS
• They do not increase the risk of death; however, recurrences do
occur and are sometimes a source of significant morbidity in terms of
quality of life and secondary injury.
• Recurrent falls due to syncope can result in lacerations, orthopedic
injuries, and intracranial trauma.
• Morbidity from syncope includes recurrent syncope, Lacerations,
extremity fractures, head injuries, and motor vehicle accidents can
occur secondary to syncope.

34. PATIENT EDUCATION
• Patients who present to the ED with syncope should be cautioned to avoid
tall ledges and instructed not to drive. Syncope-related injury during
driving is rare, but it has been documented.
• Education may have a substantial impact on the prevention of recurrence,
especially in situational and orthostatic syncope.
• Patients may be trained to avoid situations that prompt syncope in
situational cases.
• In orthostatic syncope, patients should drink 500 mL of fluid each morning
in addition to their usual routine and should avoid standing up too quickly.

35. REFERENCES
• Walsh K, Hoffmayer K, Hamdan MH. Syncope: diagnosis and management.
Curr Probl Cardiol. 2015 Feb. 40 (2):51-86. [Medline].
• [Guideline] Huff JS, Decker WW, Quinn JV, et al. Clinical policy: critical
issues in the evaluation and management of adult patients presenting to
the emergency department with syncope. Ann Emerg Med. 2007 Apr.
49(4):431-44. [Medline]. [Full Text].
• Moya A, Sutton R, Ammirati F, et al. Guidelines for the diagnosis and
management of syncope (version 2009): the Task Force for the Diagnosis
and Management of Syncope of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
Eur Heart J. 2009 Nov. 30(21):2631-71. [Medline].

36. REFERENCES
• Tretter JT, Kavey RE. Distinguishing cardiac syncope from vasovagal
syncope in a referral population. J Pediatr. 2013 Dec. 163(6):1618-
1623. [Medline].
• Chen L, Chen MH, Larson MG, Evans J, Benjamin EJ, Levy D. Risk
factors for syncope in a community-based sample (the Framingham
Heart Study). Am J Cardiol. 2000 May 15. 85(10):1189-93. [Medline].