Syncope in Aortic Stenosis

SYNCOPE as a manifestation of aortic stenosis was first mentioned by Cowper in 1706.¹He described a patient with this disease who "complained of great faintness, and now and then pain about the heart...." The occurrence of syncope in aortic stenosis was not, however, generally recognized until recently. The reports of Gallavardin,²Gravier,³Marvin and Sullivan⁴and Contratto and Levine⁵have emphasized this symptom. This report is based on a clinical analysis of 63 patients with aortic stenosis observed during a three year period at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Hospital. A clinical diagnosis of aortic stenosis was accepted only when both an aortic systolic murmur and a thrill were present or when calcific aortic valves could be demonstrated by fluoroscopy. In 23 patients the diagnosis was proved at autopsy. ANALYSIS OF PATIENTS WITH SYNCOPE Syncope occurred in 16 of 63 patients (table 1). In 14