Adolescent Asystolic Syncope

Abstract

When the etiology of syncope is considered, age is a major parameter. Breath-holding spells are thought of as an entity of early childhood, whereas neurogenic syncope is limited to older children and adults. Both entities, however, involve a similar derangement of the autonomic nervous system. We report an adolescent with a history of breath-holding spells presenting to our institution with neurogenic syncope. Her response to vagal stimulation is consistent with that seen by other investigators in both entities. We propose that pallid breath-holding spells and neurogenic syncope are the same entity. (J Child Neurol 2002;17:395-397).