Stokes Adams attack
Sudden collapse into unconsciousness due to a disorder of heart rhythm in which there is a slow or absent pulse resulting in syncope (fainting) with or without convulsions.
In this condition, the normal heartbeat passing from the upper chambers of the heart to the lower chambers is interrupted. This results in a condition called a “heart block.” When a heart block occurs, the heart rate usually slows considerably. This can cause inadequate blood flow to the brain and result in fainting.
This condition goes by a baffling number of names including the Adams-Stokes, Morgagni, Morgagni-Adams-Stokes, Spens syndrome, and Stokes-Adams disease or syndrome. William Stokes (1804-1878) and Roberts Adams (1791-1875) were Irish physicians. Stokes is also remembered for Cheyne-Stokes respiration, a pattern of breathing characteristically seen in coma. Thomas Spens (1764-1842) was a Scottish physician. Giovanni Battista Morgagni (1682-1771) was an Italian anatomist and pathologist. Although Adams, Stokes, and Spens did describe the syndrome (separately) in the early 19th century, the first description was, in fact, recorded in 1761 by Morgagni. All of these eponyms are now declining in use as our understanding of the disease process advances.
The preferred name for the condition now is cardiovascular syncope.
Read Also:
- Stoma
An opening into the body from the outside that is created by a surgeon.
- Stomach
The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upper part of the stomach connects to the esophagus, and the lower part leads into the small intestine. When food enters the stomach, muscles in the stomach wall create a rippling motion (peristalsis) that mixes and mashes the food. At the […]
- Stomach cancer
Cancer of the stomach, the main organ that holds food for digestion. Worldwide, stomach cancer is the second most frequent cancer and the second leading cause of death from cancer. It can develop in any part of the stomach and spread to other organs. It is also known as gastric cancer. Duodenal ulcers (peptic ulcers) […]
- Stomach cramps
A nonmedical term most often used to describe pain in the mid- or upper abdominal area. Abdominal pain (pain in the belly) can come from conditions affecting a variety of organs and does not necessarily arise from the stomach even though an individual may perceive that pain is originating in the stomach. Various organs can […]
- Stomach emptying study
Also called a gastric emptying study, this test evaluates the emptying of food from the stomach. For a gastric emptying study, a patient eats a meal in which the solid food, liquid food or both are mixed with a small amount of radioactive material. A scanner (acting like a Geiger counter) is placed over the […]