Society guideline links: Syncope

Introduction — This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.

The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.

Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: Cardiac implantable electronic devices".)

International

●Heart Rhythm Society (HRS): Expert consensus statement on the diagnosis and treatment of postural tachycardia syndrome, inappropriate sinus tachycardia, and vasovagal syncope (2015, reaffirmed 2020)

●American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA)/HRS: Guideline on the evaluation and management of patients with bradycardia and cardiac conduction delay (2018)

●ACC/AHA/HRS: Guideline for the evaluation and management of patients with syncope (2017)

Canada

●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't order neuroimaging or EEG in asymptomatic patients in the emergency department with syncope and a normal neurological evaluation (2022)

●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't order CT head scans in adult patients with simple syncope in the absence of high-risk predictors (2021)

●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't routinely obtain neuro-imaging studies (CT, MRI scans, or carotid Doppler ultrasonography) in the evaluation of simple syncope in patients with a normal neurological examination (2021)

●Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS): Clinical practice update on the assessment and management of syncope (2020)

●CCS and Canadian Pediatric Cardiology Association (CPCA): Society position statement on the approach to syncope in the pediatric patient (2017)

●CCS: Society position statement – Standardized approaches to the investigation of syncope (2011)

United States

●American College of Radiology (ACR): ACR Appropriateness Criteria on syncope (2020)

●American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA)/Heart Rhythm Society (HRS): Guideline on the evaluation and management of patients with bradycardia and cardiac conduction delay (2018)

●ACC/AHA/HRS: Guideline for the evaluation and management of patients with syncope (2017)

Europe

●European Federation of Autonomic Societies (EFAS): Consensus statement on recommendations for tilt table testing and other provocative cardiovascular autonomic tests in conditions that may cause transient loss of consciousness (2021)

●European Society of Cardiology (ESC): Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of syncope (2018)

United Kingdom

●National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): Clinical guideline on transient loss of consciousness ("blackouts") in over 16s (2010, updated 2023)

●NICE: Quality standard on transient loss of consciousness ("blackouts") in over 16s (2014)

Australia–New Zealand

●Choosing Wisely Australia: Do not routinely perform electroencephalographs (EEGs) for children presenting with syncope (fainting) (2018)

●Choosing Wisely Australia: Don't request Holter monitoring, carotid duplex scans, echocardiography, electroencephalograms (EEGs) or telemetry in patients with first presentation of uncomplicated syncope and no high risk features (2017)

●Choosing Wisely Australia: Don't perform imaging of the carotid arteries for simple faints (2016)