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Public safety is threatened when a driver experiences syncope. To assess risk for recurrent syncope in drivers, Mayo Clinic investigators identified all 3877 patients who presented with syncope during a 3-year period; 10% were driving when they experienced syncope (drivers) and 90% were not (controls). Follow-up (mean, 3.8 years in drivers) was obtained from medical records and patient surveys.
Compared with controls, drivers were significantly younger, more predominantly male, and more often had histories of cardiovascular disease or stroke. Nevertheless, the distributions of syncope causes were similar in drivers and controls. Moreover, rates of recurrent syncope were similar in drivers and controls (about 20%); about half of recurrences i…