Cough syncope is a well-known entity which results in loss of consciousness during episodes of cough. It commonly occurs in patients with severe chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) and asthma. Loss of consciousness following cough was first described in 1876 as "laryngeal vertigo" Since then, several hundred cases of what is now most commonly termed cough syncope have been reported, often in association with various medical conditions.
Some early authors assumed this entity to be a form of epilepsy, but by the mid-20th century, general consensus reflected that post-tussive syncope was a consequence of markedly elevated intrathoracic pressures induced by coughing. A typical profile of the cough syncope patient emerging from the literature is that of a middle-aged, large-framed or overweight male with obstructive airways disease. Presumably, such an individual would be more likely to…
