Syncope is a temporary loss of consciousness, commonly referred to asfainting, or passing out.
It is a fairly common eventa majority of people pass out at least once in their lives.
The brain’s blood flow can be interrupted for a number of different reasons.
Verywell / Brooke Pelczynski
Sometimes syncope is a sign that a dangerous or even life-threatening underlying medical condition may be present.
Virtually all of the potentially life-threatening kinds of syncope are in the cardiac category.
Several heart disorders can partially block the flow of blood through the heart.
Eithersinus bradycardiaorheart blockcan produce significant bradycardia.
While there are many different kinds of tachycardia, the ones that most commonly cause syncope areventricular tachycardiaandventricular fibrillation.
These particular arrhythmias are life-threatening and commonly produce sudden death.
Your healthcare provider can then turn his or her attention to the non-cardiac causes.
The confusion arises because an epileptic seizure, like syncope, also causes a transient loss of consciousness.
There are two general types of vasomotor syncopeorthostatic hypotension and vasovagal (or cardioneurogenic) syncope.
If their blood pressure drops far enough, they can lose consciousness when they are upright.
Orthostatic hypotension is most often seen in older people and is most commonly because of prescription drugs.
A related condition is postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS.
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