TUSSIVE SYNCOPE

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Abstract
IN 1876, Charcot1described the syndrome of laryngeal vertigo,2characterized by the loss of consciousness after severe coughing. Since then, occasional cases have been described, and in some instances the unusual vigor of coughing, associated with a respiratory infection, such as pertussis, may have been important. Whitty3reviewed nearly 100 of these cases in 1943, adding 4 more, and stated that he felt that epilepsy was an important factor despite rather meager evidence. He quoted De Havilland Hall, who in 1894 called attention to the large number of middle-aged plethoric males with laryngitis or bronchitis in a series of these cases. Wilkins and Friedland4observed that some normal subjects could lose consciousness by performing the Valsalva experiment of forced expiration against a closed glottis; in addition, diminished venous return and cardiac output were recorded by the ballistocardiographic method. The authors described 2 patients with pulmonary disease

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