Cold beverage-induced vasovagal syncope in a healthy young adult man : a case report
Abstract
Background Swallowing-induced syncope is rare and there are few case reports of it in the existing medical literature. Even rarer are instances involving young and healthy individuals, with no existing pre-conditions or apparent risk factors. Hence the value of such case reports in understanding the phenomenon better and potentially inferring patterns of practical interest is significant; here we describe an unusual case of a swallowing-induced syncope in a young, healthy, and active white man. Case presentation A healthy 32-year-old white man experienced a syncopal episode following the ingestion of a cold carbonated beverage on a hot day. He rapidly recovered consciousness and save for mild lightheadedness all ill effects disappeared within minutes. On examination no concerns were detected and he was discharged, with the cause being ascribed to esophageal stimulation effected vagus nerve overactivation. Conclusions The suddenness and unpredictability of swallowing-induced syncope make it a potentially dangerous condition, with risks both to the patient as well as, depending on the context, others. However, it is poorly understood due to its infrequency. The present case report adds to the body of much needed evidence which should help facilitate an improved understanding of the phenomenon.
Citation
Arandelovic , O 2020 , ' Cold beverage-induced vasovagal syncope in a healthy young adult man : a case report ' , Journal of Medical Case Reports , vol. 14 , 37 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-020-2358-3
Publication
Journal of Medical Case Reports
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1752-1947Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
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