[Malaise and brief losses of consciousness after 65 years of age. Clinical diagnosis and value of complementary studies in 512 patients]

Abstract

A retrospective study of the diagnosis and causes of malaise and loss of consciousness has been conducted under the aegis of the French National Society of Internal Medicine. This multicentric and retrospective enquiry, which involved 512 patients, revealed that up to 44% of the malaise had no diagnostic label and that those of known aetiology were frequently due to cardiovascular disorders, such as postural hypotension (11.7%) or arrhythmia (9.5%). The study also demonstrated that the clinical enquiry was more important than complementary examinations which yielded few useful data.