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Tilt Table Testing

By

Thomas Cascino

, MD, MSc, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan;


Michael J. Shea

, MD, Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan

Reviewed/Revised Jul 2021 | Modified Sep 2022
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Topic Resources

Tilt table testing is used to evaluate syncope in

  • Younger, apparently healthy patients

  • Elderly patients when cardiac and other tests have not provided a diagnosis

Tilt table testing produces maximal venous pooling, which can trigger vasovagal (neurocardiogenic) syncope and reproduce the symptoms and signs that accompany it (nausea, light-headedness, pallor, hypotension, bradycardia).

Procedure

Interpretation

If vasovagal symptoms develop, vasovagal syncope is confirmed. If symptoms do not occur, a drug (eg, isoproterenol) may be given to induce them. (NOTE: Isoproterenol should not be used in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or severe coronary artery disease.) Sensitivity varies from 30 to 80% depending on the protocol used. The false-positive rate is 10 to 15%.

With vasovagal syncope, heart rate and blood pressure (BP) usually decrease. Some patients have only a decrease in heart rate (cardioinhibitory); others have only a decrease in BP (vasodepressor). Other responses that suggest alternative diagnoses include a gradual decrease in systolic and diastolic BP with little change in heart rate (dysautonomic pattern), significant increase in heart rate (> 30 beats/minute) with little change in BP (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), and report of syncope with no hemodynamic changes (psychogenic syncope).

Drugs Mentioned In This Article

Drug Name Select Trade
Isuprel
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NOTE: This is the Professional Version. CONSUMERS: View Consumer Version
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