J Korean Epilepsy Soc.  2011 Dec;15(1):17-23.

Eye Manifestations during the Syncopal Attack in Head-up Tilt Tests

• Koo DL
• Yim HR
• On YK
• Lee SJ
• Seo DW
• Kim JS

Abstract

PURPOSE
Recently syncope can be recored on video during head-up tilting table test (HUT). We assess the eye signs during the syncope to characterize eye signs of syncope.
METHODS
We tried HUT based on the SMC protocol. The protocol includes video setting for eye observation. We included the subjects who had HUT at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea between October 2010 and June 2011. We investigated the video of the patients with positive results and syncope during HUT, especially focusing on the eye signs including eye opening and eyeball position. We analyzed the differences of hemodynamic parameters between eye-open and eye-close groups.
RESULTS
Of 380 patients with positive HUT, 53 (13.9%) patients experienced syncope during the test. Among the syncope patients, 31 (58.5%) patients showed eye opening during the syncopal attack and 22 (41.5%) patients revealed eye closure. When the syncopal patient had eye open, the eyeball position was fixed in 22 patients. Upward deviation was most common position. Eye opening group showed significant decrease of systolic blood pressure and heart rate during syncopal attack compared with eye closing group (p=0.044, p=0.041).
CONCLUSIONS
We concluded that eye opening state during syncopal attack can be the sign of more severe degree of cardiohemodynamic dysfunction.

Keyword

Syncope; Seizure; Tilt-table test; Eye movement

MeSH Terms

Blood Pressure
Eye
Eye Manifestations
Eye Movements
Heart Rate
Hemodynamics
Humans
Korea
Seizures
Syncope
Tilt-Table Test