Stop Fainting is produced by a committed, experienced and passionate, core group of clinicians that consists of a Consultant Cardiologist and Electro physiologist, senior Registrars and Clinical Nurse Specialists that provide the Syncope and Tilt Test service at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London (the UK’s first Academic Health Science Centre).
In addition to treating a large volume of new patients every year, our academic and research commitments in the world of fainting has enabled us to collaborate and meet with many eminent and respected doctors, scientists, psychologists and physiotherapists working in this area. A number of these, world renowned, colleagues have also contributed to what you read and watch on this site.
The core team of STOP FAINTING currently work together in the Syncope Diagnostic Unit at the Hammersmith Hospital (one of the 5 hospitals of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust) a busy tertiary Cardiology centre in London, UK. The Imperial College HealthCare Syncope Service offers the following clinical services:
- A weekly Syncope and Arrhythmia Consultant Led Clinic with Dr Boon Lim
- A weekly Clinical Nurse Specialist Syncope clinic
- A 5 day a week, Nurse led, Tilt Table Test Diagnostic Service
However over the past 6 years the team has developed a number of key collaborative relationships through our clinical work, research and lecturing roles. We have drawn on these relationships to develop our service and to contribute to StopFainting.com. In this we have also received the endorsement of other key organisations, notably, the charity STARS and its founder and CEO Trudie Lobban.
Listen to Trudie Lobban MBE;
What Do We Do?
Clinical Care for Fainting and Syncope Patients
The Imperial College HealthCare Syncope Service offers the following clinical services:
- A weekly Syncope and Arrhythmia Consultant Led Clinic with Dr Boon Lim
- A weekly Clinical Nurse Specialist Syncope clinic
Diagnostic Testing
We operate a 5 day a week, Nurse led, Tilt Table Test Diagnostic Service. In addition the service has access to the full range of diagnostic tests within Cardiology such as Internal Loop Recorders.
Research Trials and interests
Syncope Prediction Study, POST Trials, SYNC EDU Trial, Care Information Exchange and Syncope patients and The use of wearable technologies and remote monitoring in Syncope
Our Team
Dr. Boon Lim
Dr Lim is an electrophysiologist, with a particular specialist interest in mapping heart rhythm abnormalities.
Dr. Patricia Taraborrelli
Is an experienced syncope nurse committed to promoting her patients’ care and empowerment.
Mr. Andreas Dirksen
Is a dedicated & experienced syncope nurse with a passion to promote patient care via communication & research.
Dr. Chiao Wen Lim
Is a visiting research fellow in the Imperial Syncope Unit.
Professor Richard Sutton
Is the ‘founding father’ of the study and treatment of Vasovagal syncope and of the Imperial Service.
Dr. Sajad Hayat
Is an Electrophysiologist in Coventry. A past clinical colleague, he is now an academic collaborator.
Dr. Morwena Opie
A Clinical Psychologist qualified and experienced in delivering, CBT, ACT, Mindfulness therapies and medication.
Dr. Jane Simmons
Is an academic at UCL and the Physiotherapy lead at the London Hypermobility Unit at the Wellington Hospital.
Dr. Wouter Wieling
An internationally recognised expert in the academic study of syncope and dysautonomia, who is also one of the founders of education platform www.syncopedia.org
Publications
Sau A, Mereu R, Taraborrelli P, Dhutia NM, Willson K, Hayat SA, Francis DP, Sutton R, Lim PB et al., 2015, A long-term follow-up of patients with prolonged asystole of greater than 15s on head-up tilt testing., Int J Cardiol, Vol: 203, Pages: 482-485
Cardioinhibitory and vasodepressor responses to different stressors on head-up tilt
Arunashis Sau Patricia Taraborrelli Philip Moore Phang Boon Lim
EP Europace, Volume 20, Issue 1, 1 January 2018, Pages 115, https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/eux018
Published: 17 April 2017
Diagnostic role of head-up tilt test in patients with cough syncope
Roberto Mereu Patricia Taraborrelli Arunashis Sau Alessandro Di Toro Sandra Halim Sajad Hayat Luciano Bernardi Darrel P. Francis Richard Sutton Phang Boon Lim
EP Europace, Volume 18, Issue 8, 1 August 2016, Pages 1273–1279, https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euv283
Modification in head up tilt test protocol increases diagnostic yield and better-elucidates the mechanism of situational syncope
CW Lim A Dirksen P Taraborrelli A Sau S Nagy S Hayat PB Lim
EP Europace, Volume 19, Issue suppl_1, 1 October 2017, Pages i23, https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/eux283.007
Published: 05 October 2017
Predicting vasovagal syncope from heart rate and blood pressure: a prospective study in 140 subjects
ViragM. EricksonP. Taraborrelli R. Vetter PB. Lim R. Sutton
EP Europace, Volume 19, Issue suppl_3, 1 June 2017, Pages iii16,
Published: 20 June 2017
Possible role of head-up tilt in elucidating mechanism of chronic headache
CW. Lim P. Taraborrelli A. Dirksen S. Nagy N. Dhutia DP. Francis R. Sutton PB. Lim
EP Europace, Volume 19, Issue suppl_3, 1 June 2017, Pages iii344 -iii345, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjci/eux158.236
Published: 20 June 2017
Ivabradine in treatment of sinus tachycardia mediated vasovagal syncope Richard Sutton, Tushar V. Salukhe Ann-Christine Franzen-Mcmanus, Andrea Collins, Phang Boon Lim, and Darrel P. Francis.Europace. 2014 Feb;16(2):284-8. doi: 10.1093/europace/eut226. Epub 2013 Sep 26.