Syncope

About

Syncope is a medical term for a blackout or faint caused by a sudden drop in the supply of blood to the brain, leading to a short term loss of consciousness. Our unit is a high volume service providing care for sufferers of syncope.

We actively engage in research activity to understand mechanisms of syncope and research trials to understand how to best treat syncope. We offer a nurse led and patient centred tilt clinic service.

Conditions and treatments

We treat a range of conditions including

blackouts
loss of consciousness
postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)
vasovagal syncope
reflex syncope
neurocardiogenic syncope
funny turns

We offer clinicians, patients and their families support by making clear diagnoses and recommending lifestyle changes to manage their condition. Our clinicians actively engage in syncope research of understanding its mechanisms and developing the new and best treatment options.

Patients are normally referred to the service for a tilt table test by their GP or another specialist. If symptoms persist patients may be referred directly to our syncope clinic for specialist advice and further investigation.

We also provide tilt table tests for children, often with the support of a paediatric play specialist. We work with paediatric consultants to provide early diagnosis and appropriate management of paediatric patients with syncope and POTS.