Hypotension due to glossopharyngeal neuralgia

We studied two cases of glossopharyngeal neuralgia with hypotension and syncope. A patient undergoing carotid angiography suffered glossopharyngeal neuralgia, bradycardia, and hypotension due to a hematoma from a subintimal injection of dye. The second patient developed glossopharyngeal neuralgia with hypotension in the absence of bradycardia due to a metastatic head and neck tumor. This patient's hypotension was refractory to the administration of atropine sulfate and occurred in the presence of sinus tachycardia, suggesting that baroreceptor vasodepressor activity was selectively elevated.