Effects of age on outcome of tilt-table testing

Although neurally mediated syncope is thought to be common in the young and rare in the elderly, there are few data evaluating the effects of age on the outcome of tilt-table testing (TTT), especially in patients aged greater than or equal to 80 years. We examined the results of TTT in 352 subjects with unexplained syncope including 133 patients >65 years of age and 43 patients >80 years of age. The average age was 54 +/- 20.8 years (range 11 to 99) and 51% were men, The TTT protocol included at least 45 minutes of upright tilt in the drug-free state with or without repeat TTT with isoproterenol or 15 minutes of upright tilt in the drug-free state followed by repeat TTT with isoproterenol, One hundred sixty-four subjects (47%) had a positive TTT, As expected, there was an age-related decline in positive TTT. A high proportion of elderly patients with unexplained syncope had a positive TTT (37% of patients aged greater than or equal to 65, and 23% patients aged greater than or equal to 80). Thus, TTT is a useful diagnostic test in patients aged greater than or equal to 65 years with unexplained syncope, (C) 1999 by Excerpta Medico, Inc.