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Echocardiographic findings in a contemporary Afro-Caribbean Population referred for evaluation of unexplained syncope

T C Martin1, B K Bains, P A Aslam

  • 1The Antigua Heart Centre, Belmont Clinic,St John's Antigua and Barbuda. tcmartin@emh.org

The West Indian Medical Journal
|July 2, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Echocardiograms revealed potential causes for unexplained syncope in 11% of patients. Older adults were more likely to have abnormal findings that may explain their syncope, unlike younger individuals.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Diagnostic Imaging

Background:

  • Unexplained syncope is a common clinical problem.
  • Echocardiography is a key diagnostic tool for cardiac causes of syncope.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the utility of echocardiography in evaluating patients with unexplained syncope.
  • To determine the prevalence of abnormal echocardiographic findings and their potential contribution to syncope.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of echocardiographic findings in 106 patients referred for unexplained syncope.
  • Analysis of patient demographics, including age and sex.
  • Correlation of echocardiographic abnormalities with syncope etiology.

Main Results:

  • 34% of patients had abnormal echocardiographic findings.
  • 11% had findings potentially contributing to syncope.
  • Abnormalities and potentially causative findings were significantly more prevalent in older patients (oldest tercile) compared to younger patients (youngest tercile).
  • No patient under 35 years old had a possibly diagnostic abnormality.

Conclusions:

  • Echocardiography can identify potential causes of syncope, particularly in older adults.
  • Age is a significant factor in the likelihood of finding echocardiographic abnormalities related to syncope.
  • Younger patients with unexplained syncope are less likely to have a cardiac cause identified by echocardiography.

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