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Advance in the understanding of vasovagal syncope in children and adolescents

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Abstract

Background

Vasovagal syncope (VVS) accounts for 60–80% of cases of neurally mediated syncope. VVS results from acute orthostatic intolerance and recurrent syncopal attacks, which can seriously affect an individual’s quality of life. In addition, some children even experience trauma during attacks. Therefore, it is particularly important to clarify the pathogenesis of VVS. The aim of our study is to reveal the latest research progress of VVS.

Data sources

Literature that involved the pathogenesis of VVS were selected from Cochrane Library (1990–2019), EMBASE (1991–2019) and PubMed (1968–2019) databases.

Results

Hypovolemia, autonomic dysfunction, vasomotor dysfunction, baroreceptor reflex abnormalities, endothelial dysfunction, serotonin surges, and gut microbiota were involved in the underlying mechanism of VVS.

Conclusions

VVS is not always a benign prognosis. Various aspects were involved in its pathogenesis. Bezold–Jarish reflex, dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, genetic factors and so on played important roles in VVS; however, the mechanism remains unclear.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

    Hong-Xia Li, Lu Gao & Yue Yuan

Authors
  1. Hong-Xia Li
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  2. Lu Gao
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  3. Yue Yuan
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Contributions

LHX has finished the retrieval of literatures and wrote the first draft. GL revised the the first draft. YY analyzed the literatures and revised the first draft. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yue Yuan.

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The authors declare that we have no conflict of interest.

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Li, HX., Gao, L. & Yuan, Y. Advance in the understanding of vasovagal syncope in children and adolescents. World J Pediatr 17, 58–62 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-020-00367-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-020-00367-z

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