‘causal risk’ of syncope, i.e. the risk associated with the underlying disease. => cardiac syncope is associated with high morbidity and considerable mortality, meaning that any syncope due to a proven cardiac cause is classified a s severe syncope
‘consequential risk’ of syncope. This concerns the impact that syncope has on a patient’s life, through physical trauma, disruption of school and work activity, driving, and personal consequences
Risk of death and life-threating events:
Individuals with syncope have 1.31 increased for death from any cause and 1.27 for CV death
Yet, poor outcomes are related to the severity of the underlying disease rather than to syncope itself
Recurrence of syncope and risk of physical injury
The number of episodes of syncope in the 1–2 years preceding clinical evaluation is the strongest predictor of recurrence.
In patients with six or more lifetime syncopal spells, there was a negative relationship between the frequency of spells and overall perception of health