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What are the most common indications for coronary arery by pass surgery?

Posted in cardiac surgery, cardiology -Therapeutics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 5, 2008| Leave a Comment »

                                Coronary artery  by pass graft surgery has become the most common cardiac surgery done world over ever since it was first introduced by Favalaro in 1969.The common indications  are, triple vessel disease and left main disease in any of the following situationsE.

Elective CABG(Non emergent)

1.Chronic stable angina

Either emergent or elective

1.Unstable angina

Emergency CABG*

1.Acute myocardial infarction.-Cardiogenic shock

2.Failed thrombolysis

3.Failed primary PCI

4.Complications during routine PCI(Cath lab crashes !  etc)

5.As an associate procedure after a  mechanical complication during MI (Septal rupture, Acute MR etc)

*In emergency situations even a single vessel disease would require a  CABG

Hybrid CABG

Combining CABG and PCI in the same patient is followed in very few centres .(Example LAD graft and RCA angioplasty)This is done in patients who have co morbid conditions who can not tolerate prolonged surgical times.Further there can be situations  one lesion is very ideal for PCI  while for other grafting is the only solution.

Controversial CABG

1.CABG as a primary revascularisation  in STEMI*

(Rarely done now , almost obsolete , primary PCI has almost replaced it  . . . but it is still  useful if performed within 6 hours of MI )

2.Incidentally detected CAD*  following routine coronary angiogram.

( *CABG for incidentally detected asymptomatic CAD is  increasing in many parts of world )

Inappropriate CABG

         If it’s triple vessel disese it must be CABG -CASS study (1980s)

                       Coronary artery surgery study (CASS) still has considerable influence among the  cardiology  community in the decision making process  for CABG , even though it is many decades old .There has been a phenomenal development in both medical as well as interventional techniques since  CASS . (Thrombolysis, Statins, ACEI, PCI  DES to name a few) .

                     When CASS study was done many decades ago,it was believed triple vessel disese constitute a  homogeneous population and  carry  the same clinical significance . For example a 90% proximal LAD , 50% RCA and 50% OM technically qualify for a CABG and unfortunately , some of them are  subjected to it even in  2008 !  Now we clearly know, it is not the number of diseased vessels  that is important, but it’s location, severity , LV function, presence or absence of diabetes . Finally , the presence of revascularisation eligible myocardium must be documented in all post MI patients . (Technically referred to viable & ischemic myocardium ).              

              Currently , with the  PCI  & medical management has grown so much, CABG should be reserved only for, critical triple vessel disese , with at least one proximally located lesion (Mostly  LAD  or Left main ), especially in diabetic individuals.

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Systemic hypertension: The untold story !

Posted in Cardiology - Clinical, Cardiology-Land mark studies, Infrequently asked questions in cardiology (iFAQs), tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 3, 2008| Leave a Comment »

 

Is it true , once a patient is labelled as a hypertensive he remains  hypertensive life long ? Is it possible to withdraw antihypertensive drugs  permanently ?

  • Systemic  hypertension is the most common clinical entity and it forms the bulk of the physician consultations world over.
  • The anti hypertensive drugs are  one of the most commonly  prescribed medication  by the medical professionals .
  •  It is estimated , the major chunk of  revenue to pharma industry is contributed by antihypertensive  drugs.
  •  SHT , is being maintained  as a  major , global cardiovascular risk factor , by  periodically refixing the target blood pressure  to lower levels  by various committees.
  • The terminology of pre hypertension for blood pressure between 120-140 was hugely controversial    and some societies refused  to accept this entity.

Is there a case for withdrawal of anti hypertensive agents  among our patients ?

Yes , in fact there is a strong case for it.

While on the one hand there is a sustained effort ( By whom !)  to increase the drug usage , very early in the course of hypertension , there is also a silent progress in our knowledge ,  regarding withdrawl of anti hypertensive agents in all those undeserving patients .

It is estimated 42% *of the so called hypertensives especially elderly can be successfully weaned of anti hypertensive drugs with out any adverse effect.( Mark R Nelson BMJ. 2002 October 12; 325(7368): 815.)

What are the situations where we can successfully with draw anti hypertensive drugs?

  • The most common group of patients  are the ones, where  the anti hypertensive drugs are  started prematurely , with out giving an option for non drug life style  approach.These patients and their physicians continue to believe , anti HT drugs are sacred and essential !
  • There is another  major group of patients who have had a temporary  elevation of BP due to a stressful environment.These patients  get drugs permanently for a temporary problem . These patients need  to be reassessed.
  • Some of the elderly  patients,  with the onset of  age  related autonomic dysfunction ,these  drugs are poorly tolerated and  even have  disastrous effects .In this population  it is desirable , to wean off the anti HT drugs  and switched over to life style  medication whenever possible.

Final message

Essential or primary hypertension is not a permanent  disease, in bulk of our population. It reflects the  state of  the  blood pressure on a day to day basis  and is a continuous variable. All patients who have been labelled as hypertensives( Either by us or others) should be constantly reviewed  and considered for withdrawal of the drugs if possible.

* Note this rule does not apply in all secondary hypertensions, during  emergencies, uncontrolled hyper tension with co existing CAD /diabetes /dyslipidemias etc .

Please refer to these forgotten Landmark articles

Does Withdrawl of Anti hypertensive Medication 

Increase the Risk of Cardiovascular Events?

The TONE study

Source: The American Journal of Cardiology, Volume 82, Number 12, 15 December 1998 , pp. 1501-1508(8)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9874055

Conclusion of TONE study

The study shows that antihypertensive medication can be safely withdrawn in older persons without clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease who do not have diastolic pressure > or = 150/90 mm Hg at withdrawal, providing that good BP control can be maintained with nonpharmacologic therapy

 

Some of the references for successful withdrawl of antihypertenive drugs

1.Nelson, M; Reid, C; Krum, H; McNeil, J. A systematic review of predictors of maintenance of normotension after withdrawal of antihypertensive drugs. Am J Hypertens. 2001;14:98–105. [PubMed]
2.
Wing, LMH; Reid, CM; Ryan, P; Beilin, LJ; Brown, MA; Jennings, GLR, et al. Second Australian nationalbloodpressure study (ANBP2): Australian comparative outcome trial of ACE inhibitor- and diuretic-based treatment of hypertension in the elderly. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 1997;19:779–791.
3.
Lee, J. Odds ratio or relative risk for cross-sectional data. Int J Epidemiol. 1994;723:201–203. [PubMed]
4.
Lin, D; Wei, L. The robust inference for the Cox proportional hazards model. J Am Stat Assoc. 1989;84:1074–1079.
5.
Veterans Administration Cooperative Study Group on Antihypertensive Drugs. Return of elevated blood pressure after withdrawal of antihypertensive drugs. Circulation. 1975;51:1107–1113. [PubMed]
6.
Medical Research Council Working Party on the Management of Hypertension. Course of blood pressure in mild hypertensives after withdrawal of long term antihypertensive treatment. BMJ. 1986;293:988–992. [PubMed]
7.
Alderman, MH; Davis, TK; Gerber, LM; Robb, M. Antihypertensive drug therapy withdrawalin a general population. Arch Intern Med. 1986;146:1309–1311. [PubMed]
8.
Blaufox, MD; Langford, HG; Oberman, A; Hawkins, CM; Wassertheil-Smoller, S; Cutter, GR. Effect of dietary change on the return of hypertension after withdrawal of prolonged antihypertensive therapy (DISH). J Hypertension. 1984;2(suppl 3):179–181.
9.
Mitchell, A; Haynes, RB; Adsett, CA; Bellissimo, A; Wilczynski, N. The likelihood of remaining normotensive following antihypertensive drug withdrawal. J Gen Intern Med. 1989;4:221–225. [PubMed]
10.
Myers, MG; Reeves, RA; Oh, PI; Joyner, CD. Overtreatment of hypertension in the community? Am J Hypertens. 1996;9:419–425. [PubMed]
11.
Stamler, R; Stamler, J; Grimm, R; Gosch, F; Dyer, R; Berman, R, et al. Trial of control of hypertension by nutritional means: three year results. J Hypertens. 1984;2(suppl 3):167–170.
12.
Takata, Y; Yoshizumi, T; Ito, Y; Ueno, M; Tsukashima, A; Iwase, M, et al. Comparison of withdrawing antihypertensivetherapy between diuretics and angiotensinconverting enzyme inhibitors in essential hypertensives. Am Heart J. 1992;124:1574–1580. [PubMed]
13.
Whelton, PK; Appel, LJ; Espeland, MA; Applegate, WB; Ettinger, WH; Kostis, JB, et al. Sodium reduction and weight loss in the treatment of hypertension in older persons: a randomised controlled trial of nonpharmacological interventions in the elderly (TONE). JAMA. 1998;279:839–846. [PubMed]
14.
Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation Study Investigators. Effects of an angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor, ramipril, on death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, and stroke in high-risk patients. N Engl J Med. 2000;342:145–153. [PubMed]
15.
Howes, L; Krum, H. Withdrawing antihypertensive treatment. Curr Therapeutics. 1988;November:15–20.
16.
Fotherby, MD; Harper, GD; Potter, JF. General practitioners’ management of hypertension in elderly patients. BMJ. 1992;305:750–752. [PubMed]
17.
Jennings, GL; Reid, CM; Sudhir, K; Laufer, E; Korner, PI. Factors influencing the success of withdrawal of antihypertensive drug therapy. Blood Press Suppl. 1995;2:99–107. [PubMed]

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Normal qrs cardiac failure says goodbye to CRT and CRT says good bye to echocardiography !

Posted in Cardiology - Electrophysiology -Pacemaker, Cardiology -Interventional -PCI, cardiology -Therapeutics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 27, 2008| Leave a Comment »

 

                                          CRT , cardiac resynchronisation therapy  is being  projected  as a revolutionary treatment for cardiac failure , where a failing heart is rewired electrically through multiple leads and make it contract  more effectively.The success rate of CRT was highly variable.The basic question here  is,  there should be a  significant  documentation of desynchronisation  prior to CRT , for resynchronisation to be effective. Further , the sites of  myocardial  stimulation ( Coronary sinus/LV epicardial) , dose of electricity and the sequence of stimulation and the  electrical delay  are very  critical. Achieving this into perfection  is not a simple job and is  real rocket science ! ( If we can achieve 5 % of what  the normal purkinje network do within the LV we can term it a huge success.) Let us hope we catch up with nature . Finally , it is ironical  the sites of LV pacing ,  electrophysiologists  select currently  is infact not selected by them but pre selected by the patients coronary venous anatomy ! .So as on date ,  one can imagine how scientific this treatment could be !

                                         Initially it was adviced for patients with only wide qrs later for even normal qrs patients.When people started using it indiscriminately  insurance companies started to rethink and thus came the   RETHINQ study in NEJM  and brought a full stop to CRT in normal qrs CHF.

How to identify who will benefit from  the costly CRT  ?

It is a million dollar question. So millions of dollars were spent to identify the correct tool to identify the true responders to CRT.Echo cardiography with sophisticated methods tissue doppler, tissue tracking and , 3 D echo ,velocity vector imaging were done .These methods are not only costly but also time consuming and  hugely expertise driven.

Does all this  efforts with  advanced echo techniques worthwhile ?

This simple question was addressed in PROSPECT study in circulation

Click to read the article

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Why commerce always prevail over common sense in medicine ?

Posted in cardiology-ethics, Infrequently asked questions in cardiology (iFAQs), tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 19, 2008| Leave a Comment »

                Human civilisation has met so many challenges.Man kind has enjoyed the benefits of modern medicine for over a century.Now comes the new threat.Threat from within.The onslaught of marketing force has contaminated the medical science .

              It is widely  recognised  commerce is masquereading as science , from stem cell research to futile and costly  drugs, and  questionable  devices and procedures . 

How is the medical  community responding to this  issue ? 

Silence  is the response !  Why silent ? Are we the part of the problem ?  Occasional articles in the  Annals of medicine, Lancet, BMJ, or JAMA talk about these issues and nothing happens next .

Click below  to read one such article from the recent issue of Annals !

 

 

Let us hope the world financial crisis currently we are witnessing , would be good for human health as all futile market driven  , enforced medical expenditure goes bust !

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What is the simplest possible guideline for doing coronary angiogram following acute myocardial infarction ?

Posted in Cardiology -Interventional -PCI, cardiology- coronary care, Infrequently asked questions in cardiology (iFAQs), tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 11, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Answer: Do  coronary angiogram  for all patients  who had suffered from an acute myocardial infarction* ( Forget about all those mulitpage ACC/AHA  guidelines !).

For an  interventional cardiologist ,  it is often  considered a crime to  follow a conservative  approach !

*Caution : This one line guideline is not based on scientific fact  but reality based . Ideally one should identify  high risk subsets among the patients who had an AMI .Patients who had complications during the MI get immediate CAG. Others need  a focused LV function asessment ,  pre discharge  sub maximal excercise stress test or perfusion studies .But this concept has been  virtually replaced by pre discharge coronary angiogram for all ,  in many  of the centres in the world.

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Can hypoglycemia cause angina ?

Posted in Cardiology - Clinical, cardiology- coronary care, Infrequently asked questions in cardiology (iFAQs), tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 9, 2008| 1 Comment »

                             Glucose is the molecule of life   ,burnt every second inside the body at the energy store house called mitochondria. Heart , the most active organ in the body  gets  bulk  of it’s energy supply  from fatty acids,  glucose and a little from keto acids. Under anerobic conditions this energy substrates shifts towards glucose .

                             We are  rarely inclined to think  that heart  can ever suffer from hypoglycemia ! But hypoglycemia can have distinct direct and indirect effects on heart.  In fact indirect effects due to activation of adrenergic activation is more obvious.An episode of hypoglycemia can precipitate an arrhythmia . Glucose potassium insulin infusion

 

 

 

Final message

Hypoglycemia , can be a trigger of ACS .This aspect is poorly recognised and studied.

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What determines hemodynamic stability in ventricular tachycardia ?

Posted in Cardiology - Electrophysiology -Pacemaker, cardiology- coronary care, Infrequently asked questions in cardiology (iFAQs), tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 3, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Ventricular tachycardia is considered as one of the most  dangerous  cardiac arrhythmia .Rather , it is the label  VT  that spreads more  fear than the arrhythmia itself. It is a fact many patients with VT walk into hospital , still  VT will always be a sinister arrhythmia as long as it carries a risk of degenerating into ventricular fibrillation.

What determines hemodynamic stability in VT ?

  • Origin and location of VT
  • The ventricular rate
  • Presence or absence of AV dissociation
  • Impact on mitral inflow pattern
  • Associated left ventricular dysfunction or valvular heart disease.
  • VT in the setting of acute coronary syndrome.(Ischemic VT)
  • Inappropriate drug selection

Origin and location

VTs originating high up in the ventricle( High septal VT,Proximal VTs) have more organised ventricular contraction  and they are more stable.Distal VT  originating  in the myocardium away from the conducting system has chaotic myocyte to myocyte conduction.These are very unstable.

The term fascicular VT is nothing but VTs originating  in the His bundle and it’s branches( Can also be termed Septal VT ).These VTs are also stable and some of them respond well to calcium blockers indicating that they are very close to the AV junction and carry the properties of junctional tachycardia. QRS width gives  a rough estimate about the location of VT. Narrower the VT higher it’s origin.( But remember even in VT ,  qrs can further widen on it’s way downhill !)

LV dysfunction.

This is probably the most important determinant of the outcome in VT. Patients with severe LV dysfunction (EF <30%) fare badly .Hence the land mark concepts from MADIT 1& 2 demanded ICDs in these patients.The most common clinical setting is  dilated cardiomyopathy.SomE of them have bundle branch re entry(BBR).This particular  VT can be stable for many  hours.

Ventricular rate.

Usually VT has a rate between 120-200.Higher the rate of VT more the chances of instability .This rule is also not always true as fascicular VT can be well tolerated at high rates.So location of VT focus  and LV dysfunction usually over rides the impact  of ventricular rate.

Mitral inflow pattern

Proper left ventricular filling is the key to hemodynamic stability in VT. In proximal, septal,fascicular, LVOT VTs doppler studies  suggest (ACC /AHA Type C evidence : Personal observations in CCU during VT) near normal preservation of  bi modal filling of mitral valve inflow.In ischemic myocardial VT  the mitral inflow profile is critically affected . There is no distinctive forward filling was observed .In fact  at rapid rates a short pulsatile MR jets are noted instead.

Associated valvular diseases

It is obvious,  aortic  and mitral valve disorders can aggravate the hemodyanmic instability.

Final message

The clinical behavior of  ventricular tachycardia is widely variable and dependent on multiple factors.

Associated LV dysfunction and  structural heart disease ultimately determine the outcome.

 

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How do you grade pulmonary arterial hypertension ?

Posted in Cardiology - Clinical, Infrequently asked questions in cardiology (iFAQs), tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 3, 2008| 1 Comment »

                                  Even as cardiology community is preoccupied with systemic hypertension & CAD  ,  pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH) is a much neglected , still  an important clinical cardiac problem encountered . The irony is self evident , there are half a dozen methods to grade systemic hypertension not even a single stadardised grading available for pulmonary arterial hypertension. The WHO  working group defined pulmonary hypertension  few decades ago and was not clinically graded .The only grading available is based on  the pulmonary vascular biopsy changes (Heath Edwards) 

                                   Currently PAH management has gone through revolutionary changes. There is an urgent  need for grading  this entity .This will facilitate to  diagnose , manage and assess the efficacy of the currently available treatment.

                                Developing countries like ours have a great number of PAH due to rampant rheumatic heart disease.  A simple study was done in  100 patients with PAH .Bulk of the study population had RHD .Few had primary pulmonary  hypertension .Systolic , diastolic, and mean pressure was assessed by doppler echocardiographic analysis of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and pulmonary regurgitaion(PR) jets. TR jet provided the systolic PA pressure , PR jet provided mean as well as diastolic PA pressure .TR jet was available in all patients. PR jet was available only in 60 patients .Hence the diastolic andmean PA pressure data has been extrapolated in some  and  was plotted in a scatter diagram. Five equal quintiles were divided. Patients in first  and 2nd quintiles were graded 1   and third  and 4th  quintile were  graded 2 ,  5 th  was graded 3 respectively. From this cut off points for  various grades of PAH were identified .The top 3% of patients  with highest PAP were graded as grade 4 and all of them had supra systemic PAH. 

The following grading is suggested for PAH* 

 *This is a preliminary  attempt to grade PAH. This could be applicable mainly in rheumatic heart disese and primary pulmonary hypertension .Further refining of methodology is  required.PAH grading may be little different in congenital left to right shunts.

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Forgotten concepts in cardiology : Amlodipine as an anti anginal drug

Posted in Cardiology - Clinical, cardiology -Therapeutics, Infrequently asked questions in cardiology (iFAQs), tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 2, 2008| Leave a Comment »

                                                                

 

                         

                            Amlodipine , the most popular anti hypertensive drug  used world wide has an very important action on coronary blood flow.When nifedipine was introduced three decades ago it was  known for it’s powerful anti anginal properties. Subsequently  amlodipine was introduced with almost similar action. But over the years, amlodipine was projected primarily as anti hypertensive drug and gradually many of the physicians are made to believe it is a drug that  should be used only if the blood pressure is high.The fear of reflex tachycardia in few was exaggerated.

                      

                              In fact a cross section of  today’s general physicians were queried  about amlodipine  and none of them acknowledged  using this drug as an anti anginal drug. And few of them went to the extent of withdrawing amlodipine if it was used for the purpose of angina relief !

Why amlodipine’s  anti anginal action is in doldrums ?

The single word answer is unfortunate!   Marketing bias ,coupled with  the fact  that mainstream cardiology texts have ignored this aspect.

Final message

                                    Amlodipine , can still be used as a antianginal drug especially  in a patient who has angina with associated bradycardia  , significant LV dysfunction . Some reserve amlodipine and nifedipine exclusively for vasospastic angina where beta blockers alone are theoretically contraindicated .

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Why syncope is rarely fatal ?

Posted in Cardiology - Clinical, Infrequently asked questions in cardiology (iFAQs), Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 30, 2008| 1 Comment »

                                                    

                                                             Syncope by definition is a transient loss of consciousness due to cerebral hypo perfusion and loss of muscular tone, and the patient falls but  recovers fully and gets up either assisted or spontaneous.The cardiac and vascular counter response to syncope is most often intact .This makes syncope characteristically transient . If a patient does not recover from syncope it could either be a prolonged loss of consciousness( Stroke etc)  or if he never gets up he will be called a victim of cardiac arrest or  a SCD ! (Sudden cardiac death ) . So technically by defintion ,  all  patients  will  have to  survive  the  syncopal episode.

But the following questions need to be answered   

  1. How prolonged  a syncope can be ?
  2. Can syncope lead onto  sudden cardiac death ?(SCD)  
  3. What are  life  threatening syncope and non life threatening syncope ?                           

What is the link between, syncope and SCD in patients with ventricular arrhythmia’s ?

Some case of long QT syndromes could be life threatening especially in children as they inherit sudden death. A patient with a non sustained VT  may develop syncope  if  the  VT  becomes sustained especially  if there is underlying heart disease and LV dysfunction . Among this  few , may degenerate into ventricular fibrillation and patient may die.  

How common is syncope in acute myocardial infarction ? 
 Syncope is a very  rare presentation of acute myocardial infarction. 
 
Can syncope precipitate  or precede a  cerebro vascular accident  ?   

 

Prolonged syncope , TIA,  stroke in evolution and completed stroke   can be a continuous spectrum in patients with carotid and cerebrovascular  disese . But when a syncope evolves in to a stroke the   patient is not considered to be a victim of syncope but  they enter the stroke protocol.

There is a big list for the causes of syncope

But to put it simply

A.Cardiac

  •    Purely electrical ( Arrhythmic- Brady, Tachycardia)
  •    Mechanical( Valvular obstruction, and other structural heart disease etc)

B. Non cardiac

  • Vasovagal (Commonest 90% of all syncope)

C. Metabolic*

  •  Anemia
  • Hypoglycemia
  • Hypoxia
*Metabolic causes  coupled with simple  vaso vagal(Neuro cardiogenic)  constitute the bulk of causes of syncope .Siezure disorders are very  common and a close  mimicker of syncope and need to be ruled out.

How to work up  a patient with syncope ?

                   First ,  one need to confirm  it is indeed a syncope . If the initial examination is not clearcut   one  need to  go back to the  history and ask for  circumstances under which the syncope occured  and  details of prodromal symptoms  if any . Patient’s  family members who witnessed the event can give useful information . It  is the most  cost effective ( Comes free of cost infact !)  investigative tool available .Cardiac syncopes are usually sudden, vasovagal often have environmental or emotional factor. Apart from routine investigations , ECG, Echocardiography, holter are done generally, head up tilt test, Loop, event recorders may be reuired in few.

Final message

                                          Syncope is one of the common symptoms in cardiology and  general medical practice. Many times the diagnosis is easy . Common syncope is  never fatal but , ruling out dangerous  tachy and bradyarrhythmias is a key aim.  In a significant number (20-30%) identifying the cause could be really  difficult and  may never be made in spite  of the modern diagnostic tools. These syncope of unknown origin is grouped along with the neurocardiogenic category.

The one,  positive thing about syncope is (unlike chest pain) , it is rarely fatal in it’s first episode ,  gives the physicians to  investigate and correct the underlying problem.

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