Out-of-body experience and auditory and visual hallucinations in a patient with cardiogenic syncope: Crucial role of cardiac event recorder in establishing the diagnosis.
Christian Brandt, Corinna Kramme, Hermann Storm, Bernd Pohlmann-Eden
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B June 1, 2009 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2009.02.047 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA 48-year-old man experienced repeated episodes combining out-of-body experiences, visual hallucinations, and auditory hallucinations. These events were ultimately diagnosed as cardiogenic syncope after a subcutaneous event recorder was implanted. The symptoms stopped completely after a cardiac pacemaker was implanted. The report emphasizes that the event recorder was essential for making the correct diagnosis and that the cessation of symptoms after pacemaker implantation confirmed it.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | 48-year-old male patient with paroxysmal out-of-body experiences and hallucinations |
| Key finding | Out-of-body experiences and hallucinations in this patient were caused by cardiogenic syncope, diagnosed via event recorder and resolved by pacemaker implantation. |
Abstract
Out-of-body experience (OBE) and visual and auditory hallucinations can occur in a variety of medical conditions. We describe a 48-year-old male patient who experienced several paroxysmal events with different combinations of the aforementioned symptoms that could finally be attributed to cardiogenic syncope after subcutaneous implantation of an event recorder and that ceased after implantation of a cardiac pacemaker. Hallucinations and OBE are well-known phenomena in syncope. The special purpose of this report is to highlight the crucial role of implantation of the event recorder in establishing the diagnosis and the additional support of the diagnosis by the cessation after implanting the cardiac pacemaker.