Syncope

About

Syncope is a medical term for a blackout or faint caused by a sudden drop in the supply of blood to the brain, leading to a short-term loss of consciousness. The Imperial College Healthcare syncope diagnostic unit is a high volume service investigating the causes of syncope events and providing care for sufferers of syncope. Additionally, we offer a unique nurse-led and patient-centred tilt table clinic service.

Conditions and treatments

We treat a range of conditions including:

• blackouts
• loss of consciousness
• postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)
• vasovagal syncope
• reflex syncope
• neurocardiogenic syncope
• funny turns

We offer clinicians, patients and their families support by making clear diagnoses and recommending lifestyle changes to manage their condition.

Patients are normally referred to the service for a tilt test by their GP or another specialist. If symptoms persist patients may be referred directly to our syncope clinic for specialist advice and further investigation.

We also provide tilt tests for children, often with the support of a paediatric play specialist. We work with paediatric consultants to provide early diagnosis and appropriate management of paediatric patients with syncope and POTS.

Additional information

Contact information

For any enquiries about the syncope service or how to be referred, please email SYNCOPE.SMH@NHS.NET.

The Imperial College syncope diagnostic unit

The syncope unit at Hammersmith Hospital is considered one of the best in London. This highly-regarded team is led by Dr Boon Lim, a dynamic cardiologist with an active research interest in developing novel strategies to treat arrhythmias and syncope. The focus of the unit is to provide compassionate, patient-centred care with a focus on communication to improve the understanding and wellbeing of patients with syncope. 

Research and clinical trials

Research is central to the ethos of our syncope service. We actively engage in research activity to understand mechanisms of syncope and to understand how to best treat it. Our medical staff work closely with the cardiovascular research department at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and our strategy is to reflect on our syncope service to enhance and improve it. Furthermore, we are also working nationally and internationally with syncope experts on research trials.

Further online resources

• Stop Fainting - patient resources created by the Trust's syncope team as part of a study, supported by Imperial Health Charity
• STARS
• POTS UK (for patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome)