How is the test performed?

Patient is made to lie down on a bed that can be moved from a horizontal to a near-vertical position in a warm, dim-lit room. Patient’s body is covered with bedsheets to keep patient warm and he/she is strapped to the bed. Three electrodes are attached to the body and the ECG is being continuously recorded on a monitor. The bed is then tilted up to almost 80 degrees vertical and the ECG is monitored continuously and the BP recorded every 2 minutes for 20-30 minutes. Patient is also monitored for any faint like symptoms or nausea or dizziness. Patient should alert the doctor if he/ she experiences any of these symptoms. If the test is not conclusive, patient is then tilted back to horizontal position and small dose of sorbitrate tablet is administered under the tongue. After provocation with the medication, the test is repeated again. On completion of the test, patient is tilted back to horizontal position and allowed to rest for 15 minutes. Patient is given water and then patient can have food and tea or coffee after 5-10 minutes.

During the test, patient can experience faint like symptoms and can actually faint, at which time the heart rate, blood pressure and heart rhythm are monitored. Most often in patients with neurocardiogenic syncope, a fall in heart rate and blood pressure are noted, which revert to normal as soon as the patient is tilted back to horizontal and the patient feels better symptomatically immediately.