Abstract

ALDANA VILAS, Laura; IGLESIAS ALFONSO, José; GARCIA GUTIERREZ, Eulalia  and  LIMA MOMPO, Gilda. Psychological characterization of young male patients presenting with recurrent vasovagal syncope. Rev Cub Med Mil [online]. 2010, vol.39, n.3-4, pp.227-236. ISSN 0138-6557.

INTRODUCTION: On the vasovagal syncope or common faints in the literature has been reported that different factors appear to suggest the presence of association between the appearance of the vasovagal syncope and the psychological factors. OBJECTIVE: To characterize from the psychological point of view to young patients presenting with recurrent vasovagal syncope. METHODS: The psychological results obtained in 156 young male patients aged between 18 and 25 with recurrent vasovagal syncope compared with a control group including 132 patients supposedly healthy of similar age and sex. The response to tolerance test to prolonged active bipedal attitude (PABA) allowed subdivide patients in a positive group and in other negative. RESULTS: There were not statistically significant differences in psychological features assessed among both groups of patients significantly different from the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The patients presenting with vasovagal syncope, independently of the response to prolonged bipedal attitude, have usual psychological manifestations allowing their characterization. Future studies will allow establishing if those manifestations are the cause or the effect of the vasovagal syncope.

Keywords : Recurrent vasovagal syncope; mechanisms; autonomic; tolerance to prolonged active bipedal attitude; psychological factors.