Association of serotonin levels in patients of vasovagal syncope and postural tachycardia syndrome

Objective: To determine the level of serotonin in patients of vasovagal syncope and postural tachycardia syndrome after head-up tilt test. Method: The cross-sectional analytical study was conducted at the Islamic International Medical College and the Department of Electrophysiology, Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology, Rawalpindi, from April 2017 to March 2018. Group A comprised cases of vasovagal syncope, group B had patients of postural tachycardia syndrome, and group C had healthy controls. Cases were chosen on the basis of history, episodes of syncope and findings of head-up tilt test. After the test, blood samples were taken for hormonal analysis of serotonin using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. Results: Of the 80 subjects, 35(43.8%) were in group A, 35(43.8%) in group B and 10(12.4%) in group C Mean serotonin value in group A was 918.39 +/- 380.16nM, in group B it was 1188.70 +/- 449.55nM., while in control group C the mean value was 771.40 +/- 376.14nM (p<0.05) Conclusion: Serotonin was found to have a significant role in syncope pathophysiology.