Abstract
Apnea divers increase intrathoracic pressure voluntarily by taking a deep breath followed by glossopharyngeal insufflation. Because apnea divers sometimes experience hypotension and syncope during the maneuver, they may serve as a model to study the mechanisms of syncope. We recorded changes in hemodynamics and sympathetic vasomotor tone with microneurography during breath holding with glossopharyngeal insufflation. Five men became hypotensive and fainted during breath holding with glossopharyngeal insufflation within the first minute. In four divers, heart rate dropped suddenly to a minimum of 38 ± 4 beats/min. Therefore, cardioinhibitory syncope was more common than low cardiac output syncope.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the divers for their enthusiastic participation. The Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, Grant No. 216-2160133-0130 supported the study.
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G. Dzamonja and J. Tank contributed equally to this work.
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Dzamonja, G., Tank, J., Heusser, K. et al. Glossopharyngeal insufflation induces cardioinhibitory syncope in apnea divers. Clin Auton Res 20, 381–384 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-010-0075-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-010-0075-5