The Role of Heart and Brain in the Loss of Consciousness: Best Frenemies?

Dear Colleagues,

Since ancient times, physicians have been fascinated by the complex and heterogeneous interaction between the heart and brain. The supremacy of one over the other was differently established during the epochs. The most frequent heart–brain pathology is the loss of consciousness which, with a lifetime prevalence of 50% in the general population, is one of the most common medical problems. Seizures, syncopes, and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) account for about 90% of loss-of-consciousness cases. The limbic system is the common thread of many of these conditions, justifying situational syncope as well as focal epileptic seizures with arrhythmia. However, the constellation of different loss of consciousness mechanisms is much more varied, holding the greatest surprises, including syncope-induced seizures, arrhythmias that induce ictal-like symptoms, and arrhythmias or seizure-induced heart diseases. If this were not enough, recent studies on heart rate variability in epileptic patients have documented its relevance in predicting seizures.

In this Special Issue, we welcome the submission of clinical research, articles, and reviews aimed at elucidating the clinical updates underlying the brain–heart relationship and speeding up the diagnosis and management of these patients.

Dr. Elena Pasini
Prof. Dr. Roberto Michelucci
Guest Editors

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