- Laughter-induced syncope
Laughter-induced syncope is an unusual but recognized form of situational
syncope (fainting) likely to have a similar pathophysiological origin to tussive syncope. One case report occurred while watching the television show "Seinfeld", and was given the name Seinfeld syncope.cite journal |author=Cox SV, Eisenhauer AC, Hreib K |title="Seinfeld syncope" |journal=Cathet Cardiovasc Diagn |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=242 |year=1997 |month=October |pmid=9328725 |doi= |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0304(199710)42:2<242::AID-CCD41>3.0.CO;2-M]There are few case reports of this syndrome in the literature. Patients, as in this case, might present initially to the ED, and laughter should be considered among the numerous differentials for syncope.
To date there have been few cases of laughter-induced syncope documented in medical literature. [cite journal|title=Shear Hilarity Leading to Laugh Syncope in a Healthy Man|author=Bloomfield and Jazrawi|journal=Journal of the American Medical Association|date=2005|volume=293|pages=2863–2864|url=http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/293/23/2863-a|doi=10.1001/jama.293.23.2863-b]
References
Further reading
*cite journal|title=Laughter-induced syncope|date=August 2005|journal=
The Lancet |volume=366|issue=9483|pages=426–426|author=S. Braga, R. Manni, and R. Pedretti|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67027-4
*cite journal|author=Matthew J Bragg|date=2006|title=Fall about laughing: A case of laughter syncope|journal=Emergency Medicine Australasia|volume=18|issue=5–6|pages=518–519|doi=10.1111/j.1742-6723.2006.00877.x
*cite journal|title=Defining and classifying syncope|journal=Clinical Autonomic Research|publisher=Steinkopff|volume=14|issue=1|date=2004-10-11 |doi=10.1007/s10286-004-1002-4|pages=i4–i8|author=Roland D. Thijs, Wouter Wieling, Horacio Kaufmann, and Gert van Dijk1
*cite journal|title=Observations on recurrent syncope and presyncope in 641 patients|journal=The Lancet |volume=357|issue=9253|pages=348–353|author=C. Mathias, K. Deguchi, and I. Schatz|url=http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0140673600036424|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(00)03642-4|year=2001
*cite journal|journal=Journal of Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci|volume=17|pages=45–50|date=2003-06-05 |publisher=American Psychiatric Press, Inc.|title=Characterizing the Emotions That Trigger Cataplexy|author=Lois E. Krahn, James F. Lymp, Wendy R. Moore, Nancy Slocumb, and Michael H. Silber
*cite journal|title=Non-epileptic causes of loss of consciousness|journal=Medicine|volume=32|issue=9|pages=15–17|author=A. KENNEDY|url=http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1357303906001551|doi=10.1383/medc.32.9.15.49910|year=2004
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