Fainting (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: Syncope

If you've ever fainted, you are not alone - at least one third of people faint sometime in their lives. Fainting is a temporary loss of consciousness. You lose muscle control at the same time, and may fall down. Most people recover quickly and completely.

Fainting usually happens when your blood pressure drops suddenly, causing a decrease in blood flow to your brain. This is more common in older people. Some causes of fainting include

Heat or dehydration
Emotional distress
Standing up too quickly
Certain medicines
Drop in blood sugar
Heart problems

Fainting is usually nothing to worry about, but it can sometimes be a sign of a serious problem. If you faint, it's important to see your health care provider and find out why it happened.

Start Here

Fainting: What Causes It(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/articles/065.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/articles/065.printerview.html
Syncope(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/syncope/syncope.htm

Overviews

JAMA Patient Page: Fainting(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/292/10/1260.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/292/10/1260/DC1/1
Syncope(American Heart Association) - http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/113/16/e715

Latest News

Fainting Most Common Medical Crisis on Planes(02/27/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_81137.html

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Tilt Table Test (HUT Head Up Tilt)(Heart Rhythm Society) - http://www.hrspatients.org/patients/heart_tests/tilt_table.asp

Treatment

Fainting: First Aid(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/first-aid-fainting/FA00052/METHOD=print
Treatments for Cardiovascular Syncope(Heart Rhythm Society) - http://www.hrspatients.org/patients/signs_symptoms/fainting/treatment.asp

Specific Conditions

Adams-Stokes Disease(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4418
Cardiovascular Syncope(Heart Rhythm Society) - http://www.hrspatients.org/patients/signs_symptoms/fainting/cardiovascular.asp
Fainting during Urination (Micturition Syncope): What Causes It?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/micturition-syncope/AN01608/METHOD=print
Neurocardiogenic and Non-Cardiovascular Syncope(Heart Rhythm Society) - http://www.hrspatients.org/patients/signs%5Fsymptoms/fainting/non-cardiovascular_syncope.asp
Vasovagal Syncope (Fainting)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/vasovagal-syncope/DS00806/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

Related Issues

Fainting (Syncope) After Vaccination(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/syncope.htm

Health Check Tools

Faintness(DSHI Systems) - http://www.freemd.com/faintness/visit-virtual-doctor.htm
Syncope(DSHI Systems) - http://www.freemd.com/syncope/visit-virtual-doctor.htm

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Syncope(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Syncope%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Postural tachycardia syndrome and reflex syncope: similarities and differences. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19324216&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Syncope and risk of sudden death in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19307481&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Long-term seizure outcome after corpus callosotomy: a retrospective analysis of... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19245287&tool=MedlinePlus
Fainting -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=syncope[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+systematic[sb])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Medical Encyclopedia

Fainting - http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v:project=medlineplus&binning-state=group%3d%3dMedical%20Encyclopedia&query=Fainting

Organizations

American Heart Association - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000
Heart Rhythm Society - http://www.hrspatients.org/
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/

Children

Syncope(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site514/mainpageS514P0.html

Teenagers

Fainting(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/health_basics/fainting.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/cuerpo/fainting_esp.html

Seniors

Fainting (Syncope)(AGS Foundation for Health in Aging) - http://www.healthinaging.org/agingintheknow/chapters_ch_trial.asp?ch=24

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Low Blood Pressure - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/lowbloodpressure.html
Brain and Nerves - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/brainandnerves.html
Symptoms - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/symptoms.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Fainting is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/