Prevalence of Pulmonary Embolism among Patients Hospitalized for Syncope

Among 560 patients hospitalized for syncope, 97 (17.3%) received a diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. In 61 patients, the most proximal location of the embolus was a main pulmonary artery or a lobar artery or the perfusion defect was larger than 25% of the total area of both lungs. Syncope is defined as a transient loss of consciousness that has a rapid onset, short duration, and spontaneous resolution and is believed to be caused by temporary cerebral hypoperfusion. 1 – 3 According to current classifications, syncope can be neurally mediated (i.e., vasovagal, situational, or carotid-sinus syncope), can be caused by orthostatic hypotension (i.e., drug-induced hypotension or hypotension due to primary or secondary autonomic failure or due to volume depletion), or can have a cardiovascular origin (i.e., arrhythmias, structural cardiovascular diseases, or pulmonary embolism). 1 Although pulmonary embolism is included in the differential diagnosis of syncope in most textbooks, rigorously designed studies to . . .