Understanding your condition
As a partner with your doctor in diagnosing and treating your health issues, you'll want to be knowledgeable about your symptoms. Included here is more detailed information about unexplained fainting (syncope) and what to watch for.
What can you expect?
What is syncope?
Syncope is a temporary loss of consciousness, often called fainting or passing out, caused by the lack of blood and oxygen in the brain.
Is syncope a serious problem?
Although many conditions can lead to syncope, syncope caused by a cardiovascular condition can be especially serious. Unexplained, untreated syncope often prevents people from doing ordinary things such as driving a car or maintaining a job. Therefore, all forms of syncope should be evaluated.
What causes syncope?
Syncope can be caused by a variety of conditions, including metabolic disorders, neurological conditions, exhaustion, dehydration, emotional distress or cardiovascular conditions. However, for approximately one third of all people who faint, a cause cannot be identified with standard testing1.
What are the warning signs of syncope?
Syncope may occur with limited warning or without any warning at all. Fainting during physical activity or a history of unexplained fainting in childhood may be signs of cardiovascular syncope and an underlying heart problem that should be addressed.
Who runs the greatest risk of developing syncope?
The cause of syncope is not often obvious, and the individual at the greatest risk can be difficult to detect. The incidence rates have been found to increase with age, increasing sharply at the age of 70 years and are similar among both men and women2.
Is syncope easy to diagnose?
Unfortunately, it is not. Diagnosing the cause of symptoms is often challenging and frustrating for physicians because symptoms can be infrequent and result from many causes. In fact, one third of patients who faint are not diagnosed using standard tests1.
Important Safety Information
1. Linzer M, Yang EH, Estes NA III, Wang P, Vorperian VR, Kapoor WN. Diagnosing syncope. 1. Value of history, physical examiniation and electrocardiography: Clinical Efficacy Assessment Project of the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med 1997;126:989-96.
2. Soteriades ES, Evans JC, Larson MG, et al. Incidence and prognosis of syncope. The New England Journal of Medicine. September 2002;347:878-885.
