Neurological aspects of sinoatrial heart block

Abstract

The symptoms of 100 patients with chronic cardiac sinoatrial disorder were analysed. The most common presenting features were syncope in 34 cases and dizziness in 22 cases. Over three-quarters of the patients had cerebral ischaemic symptoms at some stage of the disease. Diagnostic difficulties are often encountered and are illustrated by two case histories. Although sinoatrial disorder has been described in association with neuromuscular diseases, only one such example was found in this series. The patient had a limb girdle dystrophy with cardiomyopathy and diffuse disease of the cardiac conducting system. Muscle biopsy samples taken from 11 patients with idiopathic sinoatrial disorder were normal showing no evidence of subclinical muscular disease.