Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo Secondary to Acute Unilateral Peripheral Vestibulopathy: Evaluation of Cardiovascular Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Lindsay–Hemenway syndrome was first described as an acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy followed by positional vertigo. A vascular etiology was proposed. An association between cardiovascular risk factors and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo secondary to acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy has been described with contradictory evidence. The study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo secondary to acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy and analyze differences in prior history of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, affected semicircular canals, and response to repositioning maneuvers between patients with idiopathic benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and secondary to acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective, descriptive study of all cases of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo between January/2017 and June/2020, with or without a history of acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy within the previous year. Cases secondary to trauma or otoneurological causes and acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy without confirmatory tests and cases with auditory symptoms were excluded.

RESULTS: In total, 242 cases were obtained; 158 idiopathic benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and 84 secondary to acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy. No statistically significant differences were found in relation to age: 61.2 ± 14.6 versus 62.4 ± 16.2 years (P=.55), sex: female 78.5% versus 73.8% (P=.41), presence of cardiovascular risk factors: 52.5% versus 54.8% (P=.67), prior history of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: 22.2% versus 27.7% (P=.43), affected semicircular canals (P=.16) or number of repositioning maneuvers (P=.57).

CONCLUSION: Associations between age, cardiovascular risk factors, and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo secondary to acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy have been described with conflicting evidence. This is the first study to evaluate cardiovascular risk factors specifically for Lindsay–Hemenway syndrome, and we did not observe any differences between idiopathic benign paroxysmal positional vertigo cases and those secondary to acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy.

Cite this article as: Waissbluth S, Becker J, Sepúlveda V, Iribarren J, García-Huidobro F. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo secondary to acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy: Evaluation of cardiovascular risk factors. J Int Adv Otol. 2023;19(1):28-32.