Why do people faint?

Maybe you’ve even experienced it yourself. You start to feel lightheaded, your stomach may hurt, your palms are sweaty, your vision closes in, your ears start to ring …. Then you wake up on the floor, staring up the ceiling, and realize you’ve fainted. What happened?

Why Do Some People Faint When They See Blood?

It's a phobia, but other phobias don't give you that same woozy feeling.

Doctor: Even With Pneumonia, Clinton's Fainting Spell Looks Like A Routine Matter

As a doctor, what I noticed was that the Secret Service agents accompanying Clinton made a clear mistake: they did not lay her down. One easy way to increase blood flow back to the brain is to lower the head to or below the level of the heart. But nothing else in the video was particularly striking. This was a case of syncope.

Fainting -- Nothing to Swoon About

There, I admit it. I'm a fainter. No, not the corseted Southern belle variety that puts her wrist over her brow, heaves a sigh and then swoons. That's just a myth (I think). I'm more of the quiet type of fainter. Sounds are reduced to white noise. I get tunnel vision and feel queasy as the sensation of a thousand pinpricks runs across my torso and I begin to sweat.

Fainting May Be Genetic, Study Finds

The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Melbourne, showed that a single gene that is passed along in families may be linked with fainting. However, researchers did not find evidence to suggest that fainting triggers are genetic.

Fainting, Swooning, and Syncope

Have you ever been curious about how serious fainting, swooning, and syncope are or can be? Have you wondered whether, when, and how to work up these conditions? Have you ever considered how to best treat a patient with single or multiple episodes of syncope? If you have, then the following case vignette should provide a useful stimulus for discussion.

POTS: Explained by Doctors & Patients

There is a range of diseases that affect the autonomic nervous system known as dysautonomia and POTS is one of them. In POTS there is increase in heart rate and light-headedness on standing. In addition there is exercise intolerance and fatigue, often with a multitude of other symptoms. POTS may be so severe that even normal everyday activities usually taken for granted such as bathing or walking may be severely limited.

Should You Go To The Doctor After Fainting? Here’s How To Tell

Most people who faint do not need to go to the emergency room, but for a small minority of people who do faint, the brief loss of consciousness can be a sign that more serious and potentially fatal medical events are on the horizon.

He Can’t Stop Fainting. Is His Heart the Cause?

It’s not always necessary to identify the precise cause of syncope, but it is essential to make sure that it is not caused by the heart. So-called cardiac syncope accounts for only about 20 percent of all fainting spells. But because this kind of syncope can indicate heart disease, it’s important to separate patients with cardiac causes from those other reasons for fainting. Research has shown that those who have cardiac syncope have a higher risk of death, presumably from the underlying heart problem.

Have You Ever Fainted? All About Mine

That's a lie. I don't remember anything about it. I fainted. Before and after the faint, I remember.

Passing Out at the Finish Line: When Fainting Signals a Heart Problem

When an athlete passes out during the middle of a race, medical protocol clearly calls for a cardiac evaluation to be performed. Passing out is a known symptom of cardiac defects, and cardiac defects are the primary cause of sudden death in athletes. But when an athlete passes out past the finish line, medical experts are divided on whether a cardiac evaluation is needed.

The pathophysiology of common causes of syncope

Syncope is a transient loss of consciousness secondary to inadequate cerebral perfusion with oxygenated blood. It is a common medical problem, accounting for around 5% of acute medical admissions and 3% of emergency department visits. Syncope secondary to cardiac causes carries the worst prognosis, with a one year mortality rate of 20–30%. An understanding of the events preceding syncope is essential if the correct diagnostic strategy is to be implemented.

This Is Why Some People Faint When They See Blood

Vasovagal syncope is basically a misguided effort by the vagus nerve: In trying to make you chill out, it overshoots and instead makes you pass out.

When A Fainting Spell Is Caused By A Serious Blood Clot

Unexplained fainting episodes may be caused by a dangerous blood clot in the lung more frequently than many doctors suspect, according to an Italian study.

Why People Faint at the Theater

How a distressing movie or play can trigger a body to pass out.