Fainting: Is It Your Heart Or Your Head You Need To Worry About?

Fainting is a temporary loss of consciousness. This happens when there isn't enough blood flow to the brain because of the drop in blood pressure.

It can sometimes signal other underlying issues as well and hence shouldn't be ignored. According to studies, it is estimated that one in three people will faint at some point in their lives.

Get to the cause of it

Usually, a person regains consciousness and gets back to his normal life quickly. But in some cases it might be due to a serious medical condition or a sign of heart disease, so knowing the cause is important.

A sudden drop in blood pressure resulting in a lack of blood flow to the brain causes a person to faint. Numerous things affect blood pressure:

• Sudden changes in posture
• Certain medication
• Dehydration may make the person feel dizzy, nauseated, or can experience lightheadedness.

This loss of consciousness leads to a loss in muscle control which causes the person to fall to the ground.

Related: Low Blood Pressure? What to do?

Overstimulation between the brain and the vagus nerve

Fainting can be due to crossed signals and overstimulation between the brain and the vagus nerve. This usually happens from standing for long periods of time, due to emotional distress, sudden trauma, or pain.

Some people faint due to the sudden constriction of the carotid artery, hypoglycemia, and certain types of medications including heart medications, diuretics, psychiatric drugs, narcotics, and antihistamines which may be a trigger.

Heart-related causes? Maybe

Although less common, heart-related causes for fainting are either too-slow or too-fast heartbeat. Less common causes may be a weakened or enlarged heart or damage to the heart muscle or aorta caused by a heart attack.

Fainting can also be a sign of a valve disorder. A valve problem may decrease the supply of oxygenated blood to the brain usually in conditions like aortic stenosis which stiffens the aortic valve, but this usually occurs with age.

What to do if someone faints?

Follow the below-stated steps if someone faints in front of you:

1. Lay the person on the back.
2. Raise their legs to restore blood flow to the brain.
3. Make sure that they aren't wearing something tight. Loosen the clothes or any wearables.
4. Try to make the person respond, maybe tap them repeatedly or sprinkle some water on their face.
5. If the person doesn't respond at all. Seek immediate medical help. Take them to the nearest hospital.
6. If the person isn't breathing at all. Start CPR and continue till medical help arrives.  

In a nutshell

A fainting episode should be taken very seriously. So make sure you consult your doctor to know the cause and treatment. It may not be just a faint!