Precautions for patients with vasovagal syncope

Vasovagal syncope is more common in young and middle-aged people, usually manifested as sudden syncope when sitting up or standing for a long time, the onset of the disease may appear a short period of dizziness, pale, nausea, vomiting, sweating, standing instability and other precursor symptoms. Tired, stay up late, emotional or bad ventilation can induce this syncope. If there are prodromal symptoms, the patient should immediately prostrate, or immediately sit down or squat, and flexion and extension of the lower and upper limbs to avoid trauma, and control the breathing rate, keep breathing shallow and slow and try to maintain a normal breathing rate.


The following interventions are recommended:


1. Try to avoid staying up late, tiredness, excitement and other causes of this disease, especially during summer or post-exercise. Take regular life and avoid to take hypotensive drugs.


2. Increase the salt and fluid intake: light saline or oral rehydration salts can be used for treatment, which can be taken after getting up in the morning.


3. Physical therapy: functional exercises of both upper and lower limbs can be performed several times a day, including cross-legged exercises, tight upper limbs, clenched fists, or repeated flexion and extension of both upper and lower limbs.


4. Tilt training: during the training, stand against the wall, with the upper body leaning against the wall, and your feet about 10-15cm away from the wall. Stand quietly, once a day in the morning and once in the afternoon. Last for 1-2 minues at a time, then extend to 30 minutes at a time. The Head-Up Tilt Test can be re-examined after 8 weeks. If it is negative, the tilt training can be changed to once a day, and the Head-Up Tilt Test can be re-examined after 6 months and 1 year.Training should be accompanied by family members, training should be terminated at any time if you feel uncomfortable. And you can train while listening to music or watching TV.


5. If the above treatment and preventive measures still result in recurrent episodes of syncope or falls, it is recommended to visit a specialized hospital, such as our hospital, to further assess the risk of the disease, and consider catheter ablation or permanent pacemaker implantation if necessary.