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Previous Volume 347:878-885 September 19, 2002 Number 12 Next

	Full Text PDF PDA Full Text PowerPoint Slide Set Editorial by Maisel, W. H. Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited PubMed Citation

ABSTRACT

Background Little is known about the epidemiology and prognosis of syncope in the general population.

Methods We evaluated the incidence, specific causes, and prognosis of syncope among women and men participating in the Framingham Heart Study from 1971 to 1998.

Results Of 7814 study participants followed for an average of 17 years, 822 reported syncope. The incidence of a first report of syncope was 6.2 per 1000 person-years. The most frequently identified causes were vasovagal (21.2 percent), cardiac (9.5 percent), and orthostatic (9.4 percent); for 36.6 percent the cause was unknown. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios among participants with syncope from any cause, as compared with those who did not have syncope, were 1.31 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.14 to 1.51) for death from any cause, 1.27 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.99 to 1.64) for myocardial infarction or death from coronary heart disease, and 1.06 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.77 to 1.45) for fatal or nonfatal stroke. The corresponding hazard ratios among participants with cardiac syncope were 2.01 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.48 to 2.73), 2.66 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.69 to 4.19), and 2.01 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.06 to 3.80). Participants with syncope of unknown cause and those with neurologic syncope had increased risks of death from any cause, with multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios of 1.32 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.09 to 1.60) and 1.54 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.12 to 2.12), respectively. There was no increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity or mortality associated with vasovagal (including orthostatic and medication-related) syncope.

Conclusions Persons with cardiac syncope are at increased risk for death from any cause and cardiovascular events, and persons with syncope of unknown cause are at increased risk for death from any cause. Vasovagal syncope appears to have a benign prognosis.

Source Information

From the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, Mass. (E.S.S., J.C.E., M.G.L., M.H.C., L.C., E.J.B., D.L.); the Departments of Cardiology and Preventive Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston (E.J.B.); the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Md. (D.L.); and the Division of Cardiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston (D.L.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Levy at the Framingham Heart Study, 73 Mt. Wayte Ave., Suite 2, Framingham, MA 01702-5827.

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