The authors submitted to electrophysiological examination a total of 100 patients (66 men and 34 women) with brief disorders of consciousness where they ruled out extracardiac causes of unconsciousness, impaired blood flow through the heart and the syndrome of s-a node dysfunction. Forty-three subjects had severe arrhythmias during ECG monitoring in bed or by Holter's system (20 subjects paroxysms of ventricular tachycardia, 14 subjects ventricular extrasystoles according to Lown class 3-5, six subjects had transient high-grade a-v blocks, three subjects had symptomatic paroxysms of supraventricular tachycardia). In 57 patients ECG monitoring did not reveal ectopic arrhythmias and high-grade a-v blocks. Invasive examination confirmed or diagnosed arrhythmic syncopes in 49% of the entire group of 100 patients. It assessed the arrhythmic cause of syncopes in 33% of 57 subjects without severe arrhythmias and in 70% of 43 subjects with severe arrhythmias detected during ECG monitoring.

Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Arrhythmias, Cardiac /diagnosis/; Cardiac Pacing, Artificial; Electrocardiography; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Syncope /etiology/