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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Claire McDonald, Professor Mark PearceORCiD, Emerita Professor Julia Newton, Dr Simon Kerr
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
AIMS: Carotid sinus hypersensitivity (CSH) is arbitrarily defined as >/=3 s asystole or vasodepression of >/=50 mmHg in response to carotid sinus massage (CSM). Using this definition, 39% of older people meet the criteria for CSH. It has been suggested that current criteria are too sensitive. Krediet et al. [The history of diagnosing carotid sinus hypersensitivity: why are the current criteria too sensitive? Europace 2011;13:14-22] and Kerr et al. [Carotid sinus hypersensitivity in asymptomatic older persons: implications for diagnosis of syncope and falls. Arch Intern Med 2006;166:515-20] have proposed modified criteria. This population-based study aimed to compare the prevalence of CSH defined according to standard, Krediet and Kerr criteria, and to establish if CSH defined according these criteria is associated with all-cause mortality. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 272 community-dwelling people aged >/=65 were recruited at random. Carotid sinus massage was performed for 5 s in supine and head-up positions. Heart rate and blood pressure response were recorded using an electrocardiogram and photoplethysmography. Cox regression analysis was used to examine the association between each definition of CSH and all-cause mortality. The prevalence of CSH defined according to standard, Krediet, and Kerr criteria was 39, 52, and 10%, respectively. Seventy-one participants died over a mean follow-up of 8.6 years (SD 2.1). Carotid sinus hypersensitivity defined according to standard and Krediet criteria was not associated with survival. Carotid sinus hypersensitivity defined according to Kerr criteria was associated with all-cause mortality independent of age and sex [hazard ratio (HR) 2.023 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.131-3.618) P = 0.018)]. This remained significant after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors [HR 2.174 (1.075-3.900) P = 0.009]. CONCLUSION: Carotid sinus hypersensitivity defined according to Kerr criteria is associated with increased mortality. This raises an interesting question as to the suitability of the current criteria used to define CSH.
Author(s): McDonald C, Pearce MS, Newton JL, Kerr SR
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Europace
Year: 2016
Volume: 18
Issue: 7
Pages: 1101-1107
Print publication date: 01/07/2016
Online publication date: 02/05/2016
Acceptance date: 26/05/2015
Date deposited: 22/07/2016
ISSN (print): 1099-5129
ISSN (electronic): 1532-2092
Publisher: Oxford University Press
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/europace/euv219
DOI: 10.1093/europace/euv219
PubMed id: 27139698
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