Fainting
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Fainting Can Be Linked To Other Medical Conditions
It’s understandable to be concerned if you’ve experienced fainting. At CVG, you’ll benefit from our board-certified heart doctors, who will use the latest technology to diagnose and treat your symptoms. Here are quick insights to help you learn about the process:
Fainting, or loss of consciousness is always due to a problem centered in the brain. There are many possible causes of faints and the heart may be the source in a minority of cases. The 2 cardiac related issues that can lead to a loss of consciousness one is unusually low blood pressure which reduces blood flow to the brain. The other is arrhythmias. In this case the heart rate is either too slow or too fast for the activity level which results in a decreased flow of blood to the head (highest point of the body). The evaluation for fainting requires a careful history of the circumstances around the time of the event and then usually some form of wearable EKG monitor. This is usually a slow process. Our modern monitors are similar to fat band-aids that are applied directly to the wall of the chest. They are discreet and can/should be worn continuously, while sleeping, showering, exercising. Oftentimes the patient needs to see a neurologist as well, as many causes of fainting have nothing to do with heart disease but instead can be direct brain issues like seizures.Our advanced diagnostic tools: Today’s fainting tests utilize leading-edge technology, including heart monitors and electroencephalograms (EEGs). These non-invasive tools provide detailed information about your heart and neurological responses. Our doctors will then pinpoint the cause of your fainting episodes. The tests are safe, painless, and designed to find the cause of your symptoms.
Our cardiology specialists offer extensive experience in interpreting complex test results. They will diagnose the underlying cardiaccauses of syncope (fainting). Their expertise allows them to develop targeted treatment plans tailored to your condition.
Usually, a combination of tests is needed to get a full picture of your health. This may include blood tests, ECGs, and various other tests. Your CVG heart doctors will ensure that no potential cardiac causes are overlooked. The comprehensive nature of these tests will help doctors provide the best treatment.
Once your doctor knows what is causing you to faint, he or she will give you some treatment options. Some of these are medications, changes to your lifestyle, and sometimes minimally invasive procedures. Personalizing treatment improves outcomes and quality of life. In addition to diagnosing what is wrong, your CVG cardiologist wants to find the best way to keep you from fainting again and to enjoy a healthy life.
Types Of Fainting
There are multiple variations of syncope that have differing causes and symptoms, some may berelated to a decrease in blood pressure.
Cardiac syncope is fainting that is due to heart problems, as many different heart conditions can affect the amount of oxygen rich blood that is able to reach the brain.
Carotid sinus syncope is a type of fainting caused when the carotid artery in the neck is pinched. Since this blood vessel is responsible for pumping blood to the brain, when it is constricted there is less ability to carry oxygen.
Situational syncope is caused by certain bodily functions and movements that lead to a drop in blood pressure, thereby causing a fainting spell. These include bowel movements, coughing, moving too quickly from a sitting to a standing position, and stretching.
Vasovagal syncope occurs when a person experiences a stressful event such as the sight of blood, emotional or physical trauma, emotional stress, or pain. This event causes a reflex known as the vasovagal reaction, where the heart slows down and begins to pump less blood, leading to a drop in blood pressure. This is a reflex and is not governed by conscious thought. Treatment is often complex and not completely successful.
Causes Of Fainting
In addition to the previously listed types of fainting with their own causes, other conditions and activities can also cause you to lose consciousness. Syncope episodes can be caused due to hyperventilation, heart muscle or blood vessel problems, and conditions that may cause unusual patterns of stimulation to particular nerves.
Other causes of syncope include diseases of the autonomic nervous system, which is the part of the nervous system that controls involuntary functions like the beating of your heart, and conditions that disrupt the parts of the nervous system that regulate blood pressure and heart rate. These conditions include diabetes, alcoholism, and malnutrition. In some cases, syncope can also be hereditary.
Fainting can also be caused by certain medications such as diuretics, calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, nitrates, antipsychotics, and antihistamines. Besides medications, fainting can be from dehydration or overheating, neurological conditions such as a seizure disorder, engaging in too much physical activity, skipping too many meals, and consuming alcohol, marijuana, or illicit drugs.
Testing For Fainting
In order to determine the cause of your fainting spells, your doctor will ask for a complete description of your symptoms and the events leading up to your syncope episodes. Your doctor may attempt to reproduce your symptoms by recreating the situation that led to your fainting. If your doctor believes your fainting is not due to underlying medical conditions, this will usually be the extent of the testing.
However, your doctor may want to conduct further tests to determine if the fainting is related to a heart or brain problem. These tests can include an echocardiogram, electrocardiogram (EKG), and stress tests. If these tests provide normal results yet your doctor still suspects a heart condition, they may order a tilt-table test, where, under medical supervision your body is secured to a table that is slowly tilted to a 70 degree upright position, which mimics standing but prevents the muscles from engaging. Your blood pressure and heart rate response are then observed for 15-20 miniutes. 70 degrees. During the tilt, you may faint due to the drop in blood pressure, but will regain consciousness once you are placed on your back again.
Treatment And Prevention Of Fainting
To prevent fainting, it may help to make a fist, tense your arms, cross your legs, or squeeze your thighs together. For treatment of fainting, elevating the person’s feet and turning their head to the side will be beneficial. If your fainting spells are not due to a heart condition, further treatment may not be required. If your syncope is cardiac related, you may be prescribed medication or given a pacemaker.
Symptoms Of Fainting
Why Choose CVG?
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Board-certified Doctors
CVG’s twenty board-certified heart doctors will guide you through your healthcare journey with the utmost compassion and individual attention. We aim to provide you with state-of-the-art cardiac care that includes the full spectrum of services, from testing to diagnosis and treatment. The doctor/patient relationship is built on trust. Through our combined efforts, we can conquer any challenge that comes our way.
Invasive therapies may also treat an abnormal heart rhythm, such as electrical cardioversion, which sends electrical impulses through your chest wall and allows normal heart rhythm to restart, or catheter ablation that disconnects the abnormal rhythm’s pathway. Suppose your doctor determines that electrical devices are the best course of action. In that case, you may be given a permanent pacemaker, an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), or biventricular (B-V) pacemakers and defibrillators.
How CVG Can Help
CVG offers multiple services that can discover an enlarged heart or conditions that will lead to it. At CVG, we perform stress tests that will observe blood flow and test for various forms of heart disease. There are three types of stress tests that we perform:
- A treadmill test is a test in which you will walk on a treadmill that gets faster and steeper every 3 minutes. This will stress your heart so that our nurse or doctor can determine your heart rate and blood pressure.
- An echo test is performed before and after your treadmill test to determine how well your heart pumps blood.
- A nuclear stress test is a treadmill test that is prefaced by an injection of medicine that shows the flow of blood to your heart.
We also offer cardiac catheterization to diagnose and treat several heart issues. If any of these tests determine a problem, we offer treatment solutions such as atrial fibrillation testing and catheter ablation. Learn more about our services here, or schedule an appointment to talk to our doctors.
Schedule Your Appointment with a CVG Atlanta Area Cardiologist
Expertise, experience, and compassion are the pillars of CVG’s patient-centered cardiac care. Please schedule your appointment with CVG today. Call (770) 962-0399 or 678-582-8586. You may also request an appointment online. If you have an emergency, don’t contact us online; please call 911.
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