Many people, for various reasons, have a swoon, which is a temporary loss of consciousness. This condition causes a temporary violation of the blood supply to the brain. It may indicate a serious illness. In medicine, there is such a thing as a vasovagal syncope, which is accompanied by a sharp decrease in the frequency of heart contractions and a drop in blood pressure.
It is considered not life threatening, but if repeated frequently, the quality of life is significantly reduced. A symptom occurs in childhood, and the nature of the attack does not change with the course of life. Let's try to consider what vasovagal syncope is, symptoms, causes of their occurrence.
Features of the disease
This pathological condition is characterized by a temporary loss of consciousness, mainly when a person is in a standing position. It arises as follows: due to a rather low venous return, sympathetic tone begins to increase. In people suffering from frequent fainting of this type, this increase is quite large, which causes an increased heart contraction. Intense impulses come into the brain from nerves, which leads to an increase in parasympathetic and a decrease in sympathetic tone. As a result, bradycardia occurs, which lowers blood pressure, which is why fainting occurs.
Causes
Vasovagal syncope usually occurs due to an abnormal reaction of the body to irritation of specific receptors of the autonomic nervous system.
The most common causes of this ailment are:
- strong emotions, such as fear;
- taking blood from a finger or vein, pain;
- prolonged standing
- moderate physical activity with a sudden stop;
- wearing a tight tie or collar;
- fear of visiting the dentist.
Thus, if a vasovagal syncope occurs, the reasons for this may be different. In any case, it is accompanied by a sharp expansion of blood vessels, a reduction in heart rate up to cardiac arrest, as well as a slowdown in breathing. Consciousness returns back on its own within a few seconds.
People suffering from cardiovascular diseases are generally contraindicated for a long time in the heat in a standing position, as there is a high probability of fainting.
Symptoms
Vasovagal syncope is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- immediately before loss of consciousness occurs sweating, nausea, darkening in the eyes, tinnitus;
- the skin becomes pale;
- pulse and pressure are significantly reduced;
- fainting always occurs when a person is in an upright position, and if at the beginning of an attack to lay him horizontally, then the ailment will recede.
Diagnostics
The doctor should be consulted immediately as the first attack occurred. Typically, the causes of such a swoon are not terrible, but sometimes this can indicate serious violations of the body. For example, about a tumor and cardiovascular diseases that can lead to death.
First, the doctor finds out from the patient when the syncope began, whether they occur the same way, which precedes a loss of consciousness and with what the patient can associate their occurrence. After this, the doctor begins to be interested in the following questions:
- the patient’s profession and whether it is associated with a risk to life (driver, pilot, diver, roofer);
- Do the patient's relatives suffer from cardiovascular diseases, did they experience loss of consciousness, since vasovagal syncope may be hereditary.
Then the doctor examines the patient, notes his skin color, appearance of nails, hair, respiratory rate, the presence of heart murmurs and wheezing in the lungs. Prescribes a general and biochemical blood test.
In addition, the diagnosis includes the following procedures:
- Electrocardiography (ECG), which determines the performance of the heart.
- Daily monitoring of Holter electrocardiogram (HMECG). An electrocardiogram is recorded within 24-72 hours, and if it is possible to fix a swoon, then certain changes are displayed on it. Out of syncope, normal values are noted.
- Echocardiography (echocardiography). It is carried out only in order to exclude diseases of blood vessels and heart.
- Orthostatic test. Using this method, a diagnosis of “vasovagal syncope” is made. The essence of this procedure is that the patient lies on a special bed at an angle of 60 degrees for 30 minutes. During this time, electrocardiogram readings are taken, blood pressure is automatically or manually measured. During a swoon, a sharp drop in pressure and interruptions in the work of the heart are observed.
Vasovagal fainting can be single. Not necessarily any disease provokes them, often loss of consciousness also occurs in completely healthy people.
First Aid Fainting
If the patient has a fainting state or has already lost consciousness, he should be laid on a horizontal surface, unfastened or removed from his clothes - it makes his breathing difficult - and his legs should be placed on a hill to ensure blood flow to the head. In most cases, such help allows a person to quickly recover.
But it also happens that he continues to be unconscious. In this case, it is necessary to send a signal from the outside world to the brain so that it responds and starts the entire “system”. This requires any strong irritant. For example, you can let him smell ammonia, sprinkle his face with cold water or gently pat on the cheeks.
You can not let the patient immediately get up after a vasovagal syncope has occurred, since the blood supply has not yet fully recovered. It is necessary to bring him to life gradually, as far as possible controlling his condition. If such methods did not help, you should urgently call an ambulance, since prolonged hypoxia of the brain can cause irreversible changes, even fatal.
Drug treatment
If vasovagal syncope is diagnosed, treatment depends on the severity of the disease. In some cases, loss of consciousness occurs very often, but it also happens that fainting goes away on its own. Treatment is usually prescribed to those who have such a pathological condition that arises so often that a person becomes disabled.
Drug therapy includes the use of beta-blockers such as "Atenol" and "Metoprolol." With the help of these drugs, myocardial contraction processes are reduced and excessive activation of cardiac mechanoreceptors is prevented.
Bradycardia is treated with M-anticholinergics. These are mainly patches consisting of scopolamine. They should be used once for three days. To reduce the frequency of fainting, the doctor prescribes "Disopyramide", which has M-anticholinergic and negative inotropic effects. Theofillin is much less commonly used.
If, during the diagnosis, serious cardiac abnormalities, a lack of trace elements or a tumor were detected, then the doctor should prescribe treatment methods in accordance with these diseases.
Surgery
Such treatment involves the installation of a pacemaker. This requires a combination of the following factors:
- the patient is older than 40 years;
- frequent fainting;
- there are no harbingers of loss of consciousness (darkening in the eyes, dizziness, tinnitus);
- fixed cardiac arrest.
Fainting after exercise
There are situations that vasovagal syncope occurs after exercise. In this case, the provoking factors are: a tight collar, a sharp turn of the head, strong compression of the chest, pressure on the region of the sinocarotid sinus.
There is a vasovagal syncope in athletes in this way:
- a sudden reflex expansion of the peripheral vessels occurs, as a result of which cardiac output decreases sharply and hypoxia of the brain develops;
- a sudden reflex suppression of the vagus nerve of cardiac activity is carried out until the heart stops completely.
In the first case, a normal syncope occurs, and in the second, blood circulation suddenly stops, which requires immediate medical attention.
Preventative measures
If you have not been diagnosed with any serious disease, then you need to seriously think about the implementation of preventive measures, which are as follows:
- situations that may cause loss of consciousness should be avoided;
- you can not stay in the heat for a long time, starve, smoke, drink alcohol, overwork;
- it is necessary to limit strong physical activity for three months;
- health needs to be strengthened - doing light jogging in the morning, swimming, water aerobics;
- positive effect on blood vessels contrast shower and hardening;
- so that blood pressure is always normal, it is necessary to observe the regime of the day, that is, find the optimal balance between work and rest, which will help to save strength;
- You can not sharply bend and get up from a prone position, as orthostatic collapse can occur;
- the use of herbal tea from chamomile and mint, St. John's wort, and also lemon balm well normalizes pressure.
Fainting during pregnancy
Sometimes vasovagal syncope occurs during pregnancy. The condition of a woman in an interesting position is often accompanied by general malaise and increased weakness, and this is associated with an increased load on the body. The appearance of fainting makes her very worried. They occur in the following cases:
- a sharp change in blood circulation;
- low blood sugar;
- sudden movements;
- heat and stuffiness;
- long and frequent lying on the back;
- toxicosis.
Frequent fainting is dangerous due to its fall, so be sure to inform the gynecologist about this.
Output
Thus, vasovagal syncope can provoke quite serious diseases, so you should definitely consult a doctor for diagnosis and treatment. In healthy people, they also sometimes occur. Thanks to preventive measures, such an ailment can be avoided.