Cardiac syncope induced by glossopharyngeal "neuralgia": a rare presentation

Abstract

The first description of severe pain in the distribution of the glossopharyngeal nerve is credited to Weisenberg, in 1910, in a patient with cerebellopontine angle tumor. However, it was Harris, in 1926, who coined the term glossopharyngeal neuralgia to describe this rare condition characterized by paroxysms of excruciating pain located laterally at the back of the tongue, soft palate, throat, and lateral and posterior pharynx, radiating to the ear. Swallowing, coughing, yawning or chewing may trigger pain, which usually lasts from seconds to minutes. The association between glossopharyngeal neuralgia and syncope is very rare, being identified by brief episodes of bradycardia, asystole, and hypotension. Such an association, with this same pathophysiology, was first described by Riley et al in 1942.