Laughter-induced syncope explained

Laughter-induced syncope is an unusual but recognized form of situational syncope (fainting) likely to have a similar pathophysiological origin to tussive syncope. One reported case occurred while a patient was watching the television show Seinfeld, and was given the name Seinfeld syncope.^[1]

There are few case reports of this syndrome in the literature. Patients, as in this case, might present initially to the emergency department, and laughter should be considered among the numerous differentials for syncope.

Laughter-induced syncope should not be confused with cataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle tone triggered by strong emotions, particularly laughter. Unlike syncope, there is no loss of consciousness in cataplexy, which affects 65-75% of patients with narcolepsy.^[2]

To date there have been few cases of laughter-induced syncope documented in medical literature.^[3]

Further reading

• Laughter-induced syncope. August 2005. The Lancet. 366. 9483. 426. S. Braga . R. Manni . R. Pedretti . 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67027-4. 16054945. 29552987.
• Matthew J Bragg. 2006. Fall about laughing: A case of laughter syncope. Emergency Medicine Australasia. 18. 5–6. 518–519. 10.1111/j.1742-6723.2006.00877.x. 17083645. 30648068.
• Defining and classifying syncope. Clinical Autonomic Research. Steinkopff. 14. 1. 2004-10-11. 10.1007/s10286-004-1002-4. i4–i8. Roland D. Thijs, Wouter Wieling, Horacio Kaufmann, and Gert van Dijk1. 15480929. 24259326.
• Observations on recurrent syncope and presyncope in 641 patients. The Lancet. 357. 9253. 348–353. C. Mathias . K. Deguchi . I. Schatz . 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)03642-4. 2001. 11210997. 11341449.
• Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. 17. 1. 45–50. 2003-06-05. American Psychiatric Press, Inc.. Characterizing the Emotions That Trigger Cataplexy. Lois E. Krahn . James F. Lymp . Wendy R. Moore . Nancy Slocumb . Michael H. Silber . 10.1176/jnp.17.1.45. 15746482.
• Non-epileptic causes of loss of consciousness. Medicine. 32. 9. 15–17. A. KENNEDY. 10.1383/medc.32.9.15.49910. 2004.

Notes and References

1. Cox SV, Eisenhauer AC, Hreib K . Seinfeld syncope . Catheterization and Cardiovascular Diagnosis . 42 . 2 . 242 . October 1997 . 9328725. 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0304(199710)42:2<242::AID-CCD41>3.0.CO;2-M.
2. Khan . Z . Trotti . LM . Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence: Focus on the Narcolepsies and Idiopathic Hypersomnia. . Chest . July 2015 . 148 . 1 . 262–273 . 10.1378/chest.14-1304 . 26149554. 4694150 .
3. Shear Hilarity Leading to Laugh Syncope in a Healthy Man. Bloomfield and Jazrawi. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2005. 293. 2863–2864. 10.1001/jama.293.23.2863-b. 15956630. Jazrawi. S. 23.