Neonate with hyperekplexia and typical startle response to tactile stimulation

Breath-holding spells

Breath-holding spells are paroxysmal clinical events in infants and young children in which vigorous crying is typically followed by a relatively brief period of apnea, cyanosis or pallor, loss of consciousness, and occasionally, by clonic movements of the limbs. For the overwhelming majority of children, breath-holding spells are benign, with normal developmental and intellectual outcome. A correlation between breath-holding spells and later susceptibility to syncope has been suspected based on clinical experience.