Fainting, also known as syncope, can be caused by various factors such as stress, low blood pressure, dehydration, heart conditions, and more. Initial symptoms include feeling hot, dizzy, and seeing spots. In some cases, fainting can indicate a serious condition such as a stroke or heart attack. Quick action can help prevent fainting, and medical attention should be sought if consciousness is not restored within seconds.
Fainting is usually a brief and unexpected loss of consciousness that can be caused by a variety of factors. Sometimes loss of consciousness does not indicate serious problems and other times it can suggest some dangerous physiological factors.
Often people describe the initial symptoms of fainting as feeling hot, perhaps hearing a rushing sound, feeling dizzy, and seeing spots. These symptoms, if addressed quickly, can help a person remain conscious. People are usually advised to lie on the floor with their feet slightly elevated.
In some cases, fainting occurs simply too quickly to stop. Before a person knows it, he may just be waking up on the floor seconds after losing consciousness. This can be disorienting, since the person’s memory of how they fell to the floor may be affected and it may be difficult to figure out what just happened.
There are many causes of fainting, making it sometimes difficult to identify the cause. Some common causes are extreme emotional stress, too little food or drink resulting in hypoglycemia or dehydration, normally low blood pressure, excessive physical activity, straining with a bowel movement and then getting up quickly, or simply getting up too quickly. Medical causes may include arrhythmias, heart attack, stroke, serious injury, or conditions such as narrowing of the aortic valve.
Fainting is broken down into several groups often defined by the cause, and is often called “syncope.” Vasovagal syncope tends to occur when blood pressure or heart rate drops significantly. Some people tend to have vasovagal reactions to stress, such as seeing blood, getting hurt, or seeing someone else get hurt. This type of episode, when vasovagal syndrome is known, is usually harmless.
Pressure, externally, on the nerves surrounding the carotid arteries can lead to carotid sinus syncope. Some people have very sensitive nerve endings around their carotid arteries, which can cause even a small amount of pressure to cause loss of consciousness.
In some cases, fainting may occur right after using the bathroom. When the condition occurs after someone has urinated, it is called micturition syncope. Other forms have been linked to excessive coughing or even excessive laughter. In most of these cases, blood pressure drops rapidly and momentarily, causing loss of consciousness.
Sometimes fainting can indicate a serious condition such as a stroke or heart attack. If consciousness is not restored within seconds, a doctor should be notified immediately. This is especially true if the person seemed excessively upset before the loss of consciousness, is elderly, or has a known heart condition.
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