2. For treatment if the following conditions are the cause •Cardiac arrhythmias, •Cardiac ischemia, •Structural

cardiac or cardiopulmonary disease, •Stroke or focal neurological disorders, or •For pacemaker insertion. The 2009 guidelines added non-sustained ventricular Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical tachycardia and severe co-morbidities (severe anemia and electrolyte disturbances) to the admission criteria. The American College of Emergency Physicians issued guidelines for management of ED syncope patients in 2001 and 2007[48,53]. The 2001 guidelines recommend admission if any of the following high-risk features is present: 1) History of congestive heart failure or ventricular arrhythmias, 2) Presence of chest pain or acute coronary syndrome, 3) Signs of heart failure or valvular heart disease, or 4) ECG signs of ischemia, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical arrhythmia, prolonged QT interval, or bundle branch block. The guidelines recommend that GDC 973 hospitalization be considered if any of the following medium-risk features are present:

1) Age >60 years, 2) Abnormal ECG (defined as changes consistent with acute ischemia, dysrhythmias, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical or significant conduction abnormalities), 3) Family history of sudden death, or 4) Young patients with unexplained exertional syncope. One study validated the 2001 guidelines retrospectively

but outcomes were limited to cardiac syncope with serious methodological limitations in attributing the cause of syncope as cardiac Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical [54]. The 2007 guidelines advise hospitalization if any of the following features are present: 1) Older age with associated comorbidities, 2) Abnormal ECG (defined Nature Reviews Genetics as changes consistent with acute ischemia, dysrhythmias, or significant conduction abnormalities), 3) Hematocrit <0.3, or 4) History or presence of congestive heart failure or coronary or structural heart disease. The 2007 guidelines included variables ‘older age with associated comorbidities’ and ‘abnormal ECG’ that were not clearly defined and these guidelines have not been validated. The Canadian Cardiovascular Society published a position paper on the standardized approaches to the management of syncope and identified major and minor risk factors for short-term events [14]. These risk factors have not been validated yet.