Abstract
BACKGROUND: Syncope in patients with Brugada syndrome is usually associated with ventricular tachyarrhythmia, but some episodes of syncope can be related to autonomic disorders. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of syncope to differentiate high-risk syncope episodes from low-risk events in patients with Brugada syndrome. METHODS: We studied 84 patients with type 1 electrocardiogram and syncope. Patients were divided into 2 groups: patients with prodrome (prodromal group; n = 41) and patients without prodrome (nonprodromal group; n = 43). RESULTS: Ventricular fibrillation (VF) was documented at index event in 19 patients: 4 patients (21%) with documented VF experienced a prodrome prior to the onset of VF, whereas 15 patients (79%) did not have symptoms prior to documented VF (P <.01). Twenty-seven patients in the prodromal group and 7 patients in the nonprodromal group were considered to have syncope related to autonomic dysfunction. Syncope in other patients was defined as unexplained syncope. During the follow-up period (48 ± 48 months), recurrent syncope due to VF occurred in 13 patients among patients with only unexplained syncope and was more frequent in the nonprodromal group (n = 10) than in the prodromal group (n = 3; P = .044). In multivariate analysis, blurred vision (hazard ratio [HR] 0.20) and abnormal respiration (HR 2.18) and fragmented QRS (HR 2.39) were independently associated with the occurrence of VF. CONCLUSION: Syncope with prodrome, especially blurred vision, suggests a benign etiology of syncope in patients with Brugada syndrome.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 752-759 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Heart Rhythm |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2012 |
Keywords
- Brugada syndrome
- Neurally mediated syncope
- Prodrome
- Syncope
- Ventricular fibrillation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
- Physiology (medical)