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Lesson no. 12

Syncope – Fainting

Fainting is only a momentary loss of consciousness (up to 2 minutes), usually caused by a temporary disturbance of blood flow to the brain. This is a common phenomenon among all age groups.

 Pay attention! Fainting can only be defined after the fact. This is because in the moment we have no way of knowing whether the unconscious person will regain consciousness or not.

 The temporary disorder is usually caused by a drop in blood pressure.

Causes of Fainting

  • A quick transition from lying down to standing
  • Great exertion of pressure in the bathroom. This pressure stimulates a nerve that causes blood pressure to drop
  • Dehydration
  • Cardiac arrhythmias
  • Beyond these causes, stress and anxiety can also cause fainting, as well as prolonged standing.

Phases of Fainting

Fainting is generally divided into three stages:

 

  • Pre-syncope (or: before fainting)

For the most part, the person will feel dizziness, “see black”, lose balance and look pale.

 

  • Syncope

The person is unconscious. It is important to make sure that at the time of the fall they do not hit their head/any other part of the body, and if so, to address it.

 

  • Post-syncope

The person will wake up after fainting. In many cases, he will feel general weakness, dizziness, headaches, nausea, anxiety, disorientation, and sweating. The treatment includes laying the person down with their legs raised above their head and calming them.

Treatment

  • Lay the patient down and lift their legs by 30 degrees. The leg lifting is intended to accelerate blood flow to the brain and thus the patient’s awakening. Once the patient has woken up, they should be aided in standing at their own pace and allowed to recover.
  • Follow it up with a medical examination.
  • Do not slap the fainter to check consciousness.
  • Do not pour water on the fainter for fear of drowning.

did you know?

 Three-quarters of the blood found in the body is in the veins (blood vessels that return blood to the heart). The heart, as you know, is the organ that pumps blood through the body by its beats. The difficulty is pumping the blood upwards to the brain because gravity acts in the opposite direction. Normally blood flow to the brain is constant thanks to cardiac output and contraction by special arterioles (for full details on the arterioles see “a little about the blood system”) which compensates for the decrease in blood flow. When compensation is inadequate, the blood flow to the brain drops to half the normal blood flow, and fainting occurs.

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