Introduction It is challenging to diagnose syncope in patients with pacemakers. Because these patients have increased morbidity and mortality risks, they require immediate attention to determine the causes in order to provide appropriate treatment. This study aimed to investigate the causes and predictive factors of syncope as well as the methods used to diagnose syncope in cardiac pacemaker patients. Methods Patients with pacemakers implanted owing to sinus node disease or atrioventricular block were evaluated with standardized questionnaires, endocavitary electrograms, and other tests based on the suspected causes of syncope. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to analyze continuous variables and Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests were used for categorical variables. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analyses. Statistical significance was P <0.05. Results The study included 95 patients with pacemakers: 47 experienced syncope in the last 12 months and 48 did not. Of the 100 documented episodes of syncope, 48.9% were vasovagal syncopes, 17% had cardiac-related causes, 10.6% had unknown causes, and 8.5% had pacemaker failure. The multivariate analysis showed that a New York Heart Association (NYHA) Functional Class II was a significant factor for developing syncope ( P <0.01). Conclusion While the most common type of syncope in pacemaker patients was neurally mediated, it is important to perform detailed evaluations in this population as the causes of syncope can be life-threatening. The best diagnostic methods were stored electrogram analysis and the tilt table test. NYHA Functional Class II patients were found to have a higher risk for syncope.
Introdução: As síncopes podem representar elevado risco de morbimortalidade em determinadas populações. Objetivo: Investigar os resultados dos métodos complementares utilizados no diagnóstico das síncopes em portadores de marca-passos (MP). Metodologia: Foram recrutados participantes do ambulatório de Arritmias e Marca-passo do Hospital Universitário Walter Cantídio, sendo incluídos portadores de MP uni ou bicameral implantados nos últimos 10 anos por doença do nó sinusal ou bloqueio atrioventricular, com capacidade analítica dos eletrogramas endocavitários (EGM), sendo avaliados clinicamente por questionários específicos e análise dos EGM. Demais exames foram solicitados de acordo com a suspeita clínica, como o Holter 24h, Tilt teste, Teste de Hipersensibilidade do Seio Carotídeo ou Estudo Eletrofisiológico. Resultados: O Tilt teste diagnosticou síncopes neuromediadas em quase 1/3 dos casos. A análise computadorizada dos EGM apresentou elevada capacidade diagnóstica, tendo determinado a etiologia arrítmica ou por falhas do MP em 27,6% dos casos. O Holter 24hs auxiliou na investigação em 18,7% dos casos. Conclusão: Os testes do marca-passo com as análises de seus eletrogramas armazenados e o Tilt teste foram os melhores métodos para o diagnóstico etiológico das síncopes em portadores de MP cardíaco.
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