Talk:Tilt table test

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Medicine. Please visit the project page for details or ask questions at the doctor's mess.
Start	This page has been rated as Start-Class on the quality assessment scale
Mid	This article has been rated as mid-importance on the importance assessment scale

I removed a few bits of nonsense as saying faints are very rarely induced by the test (some believe pre-syncope is not diagnostic) or use of trade names relevant to a single country. I also edited to remove references to protocols not now widely used internationally, particularily as the traditional more invasive protocols have been shown to be only necessary in selected cases and associated with abnormal cardiovascular responses. The text should no longer conflict with the state of the art as of 2005 which is now referenced. [ 4/12/05 ChaseKiwi]

[edit] Article is unclear

At the moment, the article says that the patient is normally suspended at an angle between 60 and 80 degrees.

From the name of the test, and the description of what it's trying to diagnose, I suspect that the patient actually starts out by lying flat for a while before being elevated to the 60-80 degree angle - since otherwise, there would be no change in position to induce the fainting spell. But since I have zero knowledge of the subject, I don't dare make it say that. Can someone who actually knows how the test is performed make the necessary clarifications? --Alvestrand 20:06, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Having had this test done more than once I can confirm you are strapped to a table which is flat and the table is then tilted. -- Becca, 21:44, 02 July 2007 (GMT)

Well, yes, but not really. It's not strictly necessary for you to be lying flat at the beginning for the tilt table test to work. It's just more convenient to strap a person to the table if the person is lying flat on the table, with the table raised to save the technician's lower back. Holding perfectly still at about 70 degrees (not quite upright) is just a quick way to stress the mechanism that keeps blood from pooling in your legs while also turning off some common (possibly unconscious) compensation tricks. I'm sure you've heard of people fainting from standing too long in a hot room? This test is just an efficient way to bring about the same thing (without, of course, the risk that you'll get a bloody your nose when you pass out). WhatamIdoing (talk) 21:16, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV?

I removed the NPOV tag because there's no explanation here and no obvious problem in that section. Perhaps it's already been fixed? Perhaps someone can enlighten us? WhatamIdoing (talk) 21:19, 20 December 2007 (UTC)