Published online Jun 26, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i12.2629
Peer-review started: March 16, 2020
First decision: April 29, 2020
Revised: May 12, 2020
Accepted: June 3, 2020
Article in press: June 3, 2020
Published online: June 26, 2020
Processing time: 99 Days and 18.5 Hours
Sick sinus syndrome is a common disease in cardiology. Typical symptoms include palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and amaurosis. However, to date, there are no known reports of sick sinus syndrome presenting with headache. Whether there is a correlation between headache and sick sinus syndrome merits further research. In this report, we describe a case of headache induced by sick sinus syndrome.
A 73-year-old female patient presented to our department with the chief complaint of recurrent paroxysmal headache for more than 7 years. The patient described paroxysmal palpations, usually headache occurring after palpitation. Her blood pressure was normal when the most recent headache occurred. A magnetic resonance imaging study and magnetic resonance angiography of the head at another center were normal. A clinical neurological examination was negative. A 24-h Holter electrocardiogram monitoring study showed sick sinus syndrome. The patient received dual chamber pacing implantation and was administered drug therapy to control ventricular rate. The patient’s paroxysmal headaches and palpitations had resolved within 1 year, confirmed via a follow-up telephone call.
After dual-chamber pacing implantation and drug therapy administration to control the ventricular rate, the patient’s paroxysmal headaches and palpitations had resolved within 1 year, confirmed via a follow-up telephone call. We believe that the headaches were related to the patient’s sick sinus syndrome.
Core tip: We report a patient who had headaches induced by sick sinus syndrome. To the best of our knowledge, this finding has not been previously reported. It provides new ideas for clinical diagnosis and treatment of both headache and sick sinus syndrome in the future.