HEAD-UP TILT TEST IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF SYN COPE - AN EVALUATION IN 24 PATIENTS

Sudden hypotension, alone or combined with bradycardia is a major caus e of syncope. 24 consecutive patients with a history of > 1 syncope of unknown aetiology were exposed to vagal provocation by the head-up ti lt test. The clinical symptoms were reproduced in 11 patients under th e given protocol, representing a sensitivity of 46%. The patients were followed up for 13.2 +/- 5.3 months. 7 of the 11 patients (64%) with a positive result on tilting versus 2 of the 13 patients (15%) with a negative result had a relapse of syncope. There was no statistical dif ference between the groups with regard to the number of syncopial epis odes before patients were included in the study. Syncope in the head-u p tilt test is, thus, a pointer towards identifying with a higher inci dence of syncope on follow-up.