What is the best treatment for syncope?
To immediately treat someone who has fainted from vasovagal syncope, help the person lie down and lift their legs up in the air. This will restore blood flow to the brain, and the person should quickly regain consciousness.
Can syncope be cured?
This problem can usually be cured by an ablation procedure that blocks the abnormal signal. Blockage of blood flow from the heart — Any problem with the structure of the heart that interferes with the flow of blood can cause syncope.
What is the main cause of syncope?
Syncope is a temporary loss of consciousness usually related to insufficient blood flow to the brain. It’s also called fainting or “passing out.” It most often occurs when blood pressure is too low (hypotension) and the heart doesn’t pump enough oxygen to the brain.
Is syncope life threatening?
In most cases, syncope is not a sign of a life-threatening problem, although some people with syncope do have a serious underlying medical condition. In young adults and children, most cases of syncope are not associated with an underlying medical problem.
What is the initial treatment for syncope?
Cardiac pacing, implantable cardioverter‐defibrillators, and catheter ablation are the usual treatments of syncope caused by cardiac arrhythmias, depending on the mechanism of syncope.
How is syncope diagnosed?
Diagnosing vasovagal syncope often begins with a physical examination. During the physical exam, your doctor will listen to your heart and take your blood pressure. He or she may also massage the main arteries in your neck to see if that causes you to feel faint.
Is syncope a heart condition?
Serious Cardiovascular Conditions (Cardiac Syncope)
Common causes of cardiac syncope: Arrhythmia and abnormal heart rhythm: During episodes of heart arrhythmia, the heart works inefficiently and not enough oxygenated blood can circulate to the brain. There are many types of cardiac arrhythmias that may cause syncope.
Can a neurologist diagnose syncope?
ANS evaluation including tilt testing should be considered as preliminary screening in patients with syncope in the absence of definite heart abnormalities. Neurologists should consider syncope from ANS failure as a comorbid factor in patients with seizures where the clinical characteristics are not straightforward.
What drugs can cause syncope?
Drugs commonly implicated in syncope include the following: Agents that reduce blood pressure (eg, antihypertensive drugs, diuretics, nitrates) Agents that affect cardiac output (eg, beta blockers, digitalis, antiarrhythmics)
How long can you live with syncope?
Overall, morbidity and mortality in syncope patients is low, but 1-year mortality can reach 33% in certain subgroups of patients having a cardiac etiology of syncope.
What medications can cause syncope?
What type of doctor treats syncope?
If you have cardiac syncope, it is important to see a cardiologist for proper treatment. Postural-Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is caused by a very fast heart rate (tachycardia) that happens when a person stands after sitting or lying down. The heart rate can speed up by 30 beats per minute or more.
Is syncope a symptom of heart failure?
Syncope is caused by a temporary global failure of cerebral perfusion. When cardiac, the brain is not perfused because the heart is failing to generate enough cardiac output to send its freshly oxygenated blood to the brain.
What kind of doctor treats syncope?
How long can a syncope episode last?
Syncope is more common than you might think. It can happen at any age, including childhood, though fainting happens more frequently to people as they get older. Syncopal episodes usually last only seconds or minutes. They may be accompanied by temporary feelings of confusion when you regain consciousness.
Can syncope cause brain damage?
It has been reported that recurrent syncope episodes can lead to impairment of short-term memory. However, to date, the exact evidence of structural brain damage after syncope has not been reported.