A patient with syncope may be at increased risk for vehicular accidents. The decision to restrict must be individualized based on a number of factors impacting risk.
Factors affecting the decision to restrict driving:
(1) identified cause for the syncope (neurally-mediated/reflex/vasovagal, cardiac, etc)
(2) frequency of episodes (single, recurrent)
(3) severity of the episodes (mild, severe)
(4) possible triggers
(5) ability to control
(6) amount of driving
(7) locations of driving (rural, urban, expressway, etc)
(8) presence or absence of a prodrome
(9) history of occurrence while driving
(10) type of vehicle being operated
Recurrent syncope in Japan is 3 or more episodes of syncope over a period of 5 years.
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