Many people wrongly associate blackouts and seizures with epilepsy when it’s much more likely that it’s the heart and not the brain that needs attention1
To promote accurate diagnosis of blackouts, the patient group STARS (Syncope Trust and Reflex anoxic Seizures) launched a campaign in July 2006 to ensure that cardiologists and neurologists work in tandem when diagnosing the causes of their patients’ blackouts.
What is a blackout?
Blackout is a wide term used to describe when someone temporarily loses consciousness. Other terms for blackouts include, fainting, seizures, spells, falls, funny turns and fits.
Syncope is a medical term that healthcare professionals use to describe blackouts that result from cardiovascular problems. |
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What is syncope?
Syncope describes a temporary but sudden loss of consciousness (blackout) due to a reduction in blood flow to the brain. This reduction results from a heart or blood vessel problem.2
Correct diagnosis is not always easy. Sometimes during a syncopal blackout a person’s arms and legs will jerk, leading to confusion with epileptic seizures. In the case of syncope, the jerking results from the body automatically tensing muscles so that blood is forced out of the limbs and back to the brain where it’s needed. Syncope is also often associated with a loss of bladder control.
While syncope itself doesn’t cause permanent physical damage, it can have other significant consequences. Obviously, there’s a risk of injury from falls. Less obviously, but equally important, people can suffer considerable anxiety over the constant potential of another blackout.
This anxiety restricts daily routines and interferes with social activities. People do their utmost to avoid situations where it would be distressing and embarrassing for them to blackout and, as often happens, lose bladder control.
What causes syncope?
As a cardiovascular disorder, syncope is caused either by an underlying cardiac problem, such as heart rhythm interruptions or structural heart disease, or by an underlying vascular problem, such as problems with the body’s reflexes that maintain sufficient blood pressure.
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Problem of diagnosis
Seeing the difference between an epileptic seizure and syncope is not difficult for someone who’s trained, but not easy for anyone else. And, although syncope may happen regularly, it’s both transient and unpredictable. Hence, it's rare that someone will have an episode while in the company of a healthcare professional.
Using the right diagnostic tools
Because predicting when syncope will happen is difficult, underlying cardiac causes may be hard to identify with tests such as electrocardiograms.
For some people, it’s possible to induce a blackout using a tilt table test. For others, there are a range of diagnostic tools, from a wearable 24-hour monitor to an insertable loop recorder which automatically stores several months of heart rhythm data for doctors to examine later.
If you suspect that you might suffer from syncope, or if you would like to know more, go to the STARS website for detailed information about blackouts, syncope and getting the correct medical help.
External links
BBC Health. News article: Heart problems caused my fainting. 24 March 2007. (Accessed 26 March 2007)
The links on this page go to external websites where other terms and conditions apply. Medtronic Ltd is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Footnotes
1. A.P. Fitzpatrick, P. Cooper. Diagnosis and Management of Patients with Blackouts. Heart Online and Education in Heart. 92: 559-568 (2005). Accessed 18 July 2006.
2. M. Brignole. How to Approach a Patient with Syncope. European Society of Cardiology. 3: 29 (29 March 2005). Accessed 18 July 2006.
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The links on this page go to external websites where other terms and conditions apply. Medtronic Ltd is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Last updated: 20 July 2006
