Many of us have experienced fainting, often a result of debility due to exhaustion or when the body is deprived of nutrition owing to skipping meals. Fainting is not of serious concern when occurring once or twice and is not reported much as a medical issue. However, frequent fainting (loss of consciousness) spells and collapsing could point to an underlying condition.
Dr Vikas Naik, Consultant – Neurosurgery, Fortis Hospital, Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru, says that fainting is clinically called syncope, which is a temporary loss of consciousness in a person.
While the underlying causes of syncope are still being investigated, what is currently known is that when the blood supply to the brain is disrupted, the brain quickly switches off to protect itself – even if for a few seconds — leading to unconsciousness.
“Syncope has many causes. Usually, many of us will face a transient syncope if we go out in the hot sun, or we have not had food or we do not have water for a long period. But there are other causes; if you are having frequent fainting, then you need to be investigated,” Dr Naik says.
Syncope or loss of consciousness is a cause of concern in older people and pregnant women; those having underlying heart conditions, or those battling obesity.
These causes can be due to cardiac problems, neurological causes, or sometimes due to multiple reasons, explains Dr Kaviraj Udupa, Professor of Neurophysiology at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru.
Ideally, a person having syncope usually recovers and does not face severe complications. The above illustration represents syncope, its symptoms, and triggers.
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