Blackout in a supermarket queue, with no warning
The case
73-year-old man. Blackout in a supermarket queue, with no warning
Hypertension on bisoprolol for years. Donepezil started six weeks ago for early Alzheimer's disease. Two episodes of feeling faint in the last month; this time he went to the floor and came round within seconds, with no confusion afterwards and no tongue biting.
On arrival
- HR
- 52
- SpO₂ (%)
- 97
- Respiratory rate
- 15
- Temperature (°C)
- 36.4
- Systolic BP (mmHg)
- 138
- Diastolic BP (mmHg)
- 76
Stage 1 of 1
Séamus Ó Braonáin is on a monitored bed in the emergency department, fully alert, embarrassed and keen to know when his daughter is arriving. He felt nothing before the blackout and remembers hitting the floor. Examination is normal apart from a bruise on his elbow. This strip printed while the nurse was doing his observations.
Diagnosis
Sinus arrest with junctional escape from rate-limiting drugs
This tracing was generated, not recorded. It opens in the studio with every dial live.
Discussion
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