Falls and Syncope Unit

To be referred to the Falls and Syncope Unit your GP will need to complete a Healthlink referral specifically for this service. 

Please bring the following items with you to your appointment:

• A complete list of the medications you are currently taking
• Any relevant information on tests and procedures completed in other hospitals
• If you are asthmatic, please bring your inhalers to the clinic

If you have had a fall or blackout, it is useful to consider what happened before, during and after an episode.  Consider the following questions before you visit the Falls and Syncope Unit (FASU):

• Was there any identifiable trigger (for example, fright, fasting, alcohol, stress, warm environment, etc.)
•  Did you get any warning that an event was about to occur (for example, dizziness, blurred vision, hearing disturbance, sweating, a warm feeling, nausea or vomiting)?
•  Did you experience chest pain or discomfort?
•  Did you get palpitations?
• Did you blackout?  If yes, for how long?
• Was there any limb jerking, eye-rolling or incontinence during the blackout?
• Were you confused following the episode?
• How long did it take you to recover?
•  How often do episodes occur? Daily, weekly, monthly, less frequently?
• Is there a family history of blackouts, sudden death or migraines?   

Where possible, use a mobile phone to video a blackout.  It is very helpful to have a family member or friend who has witnessed an episode attend your appointment at FASU to provide additional information. If this is not possible, medical staff may wish to contact witnesses by phone, with your permission, to gather additional information.

The treatment of patients attending the Falls and Syncope Unit is specifically tailored to the individual’s clinical condition and is reliant on their diagnosis. The following are some of the treatment options frequently used in the unit:

• Prescription medication
• Alteration of culprit medication (in other words medications causing symptoms)
• Pacemaker insertion
• Modification to diet and fluid intake
• Lifestyle modification
• Physiotherapy
• Cognitive behavioural therapy

If English is not your first language and you require an interpreter, please arrange for the clinic to be contacted before your appointment, to let us know.