Objective To explore how to differentiate the epilepsy and syncope in order to minimize the misdiagnosis. Methods Retrospectively analyzed the medical record of 6 cases which were misdiagnosed as epilepsy or syncope during April 2008 to September 2012 and reviewed the literatures about the differential diagnosis. Results Among the clinical characteristics, the ictal positional tone and loss of consciousness as well as the duration of postictal confusion are very important to the differential diagnosis. The ictal EEG shows highly rhythmic abnormal discharges when epileptic seizures occur. However, the ictal EEG would become slower and flatler during syncope. Conclusions When the automomic disorder and signs such as chest distress, arrhythmia. appear, the causes should not be limited in the cardiac diseases, the functional or structural abnormalities of the nervous system innervating the heart should also be considered; on the contrary, convulsions might not only due to the abnormal electrical activity in the brain, but syncope.
American Heart Association updated the guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and emergency cardiovascular care in November 2019. This focused update incorporates the systematic review conducted by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, an expert group consisting of hundreds of international resuscitation scientists, to identify the new evidence supporting the basic and advanced life support and first aid in emergency medical care. This focused update involves the life chain of CPR (dispatcher-assisted CPR and cardiac arrest centers), advanced cardiovascular life support (advanced airways, vasopressors, and extracorporeal CPR), and first aid for presyncope. This present review aims to interpret these updates by reviewing the literature and comparing the recommendations in this update with previous guidelines.