Pulmonary embolism presenting as syncope: Case report and review of the literature*,**
Section snippets
CASE REPORT
The following case illustrates the importance of considering pulmonary thromboembolism in the differential diagnosis of syncope and highlights an atypical manifestation of this disease in elderly persons.
A 68-year-old woman with advanced Alzheimer’s disease and hypertension was admitted to the hospital after she had a syncopal episode in her house. The patient was in her usual state of health until she suddenly collapsed while standing and lost consciousness for approximately 2 minutes. She
DISCUSSION
In the United States, recognized venous thromboembolism (pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis) is responsible for more than 250,000 hospitalizations and approximately 50,000 deaths per year. The true incidence of pulmonary embolism, although unknown, is estimated to be around 650,000 cases annually.1
Syncope is a frequent cause of hospital admission among elderly persons and is a relatively easy clinical symptom to detect. However, syncope has an almost bewildering array of causes; in
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Cited by (0)
- *
Reprint requests: Polyxeni Koutkia, MD, Department of Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, 164 Summit Ave, Providence, RI 02906.
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