2009 ESC Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Syncope

August 27, 2009—Developed by the Task Force for the Diagnosis and Management of Syncope of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), in collaboration with the European Heart Rhythm Association, the Heart Failure Association, and the Heart Rhythm Society, this document is a revised version of the 2004 ESC Guidelines on Syncope.

There are two main aspects of this document that differentiate it from its predecessors. The first is to stress the concept that there are two distinct reasons for evaluating patients with syncope: one is to identify the precise cause in order to address an effective mechanism-specific treatment; the other is to identify the specific risk to the patient, which frequently depends on the underlying disease rather than on the mechanism of syncope itself. The background is provided for physicians to avoid confounding these two concepts. The second aspect is to produce a comprehensive document that is addressed not only to cardiologists but to all physicians who are interested in the field.

 See 2017 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Patients with Syncope.