Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffA tilt table test is used to evaluate the cause of unexplained fainting (syncope). During a tilt table test, you lie on a table that moves from a horizontal to a vertical position. Your heart rate and blood pressure are monitored throughout the tilt table test.
Your doctor may recommend a tilt table test if you've had repeated, unexplained episodes of fainting. A tilt table test may also be appropriate to investigate the cause of fainting if you've fainted only once, but another episode would put you at high risk of injury due to your work environment, medical history, age or other factors.
Doctors use a tilt table test to help diagnose the cause of fainting. During the test, your blood pressure and heart rate are monitored. You begin by lying flat on a table. Straps are put around your body to hold you in place. Then, the table is tilted to raise your body to a head-up position — simulating a change in position from lying down to standing up. This test allows doctors to evaluate your body's cardiovascular response to the change in position.
- Tilt table test. Heart Rhythm Society. http://www.hrspatients.org/patients/heart_tests/tilt_table.asp. Accessed March 1, 2012.
- Olshansky B. Upright tilt table testing in the evaluation of syncope. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed March 1, 2012.
- Bonow RO, et al. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunder Elsevier: 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4377-0398-6..00042-1--s0060&isbn=978-1-4377-0398-6&uniqId=321215166-9#4-u1.0-B978-1-4377-0398-6..00042-1--s0090. Accessed March 1, 2012.
- Tilt table testing. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/cardiovascular_disorders/cardiovascular_tests_and_procedures/tilt_table_testing.html. Accessed March 1, 2012.
- Grogan M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 30, 2012.
Find Mayo Clinic on