What Is Presyncope And Why Does It Happen?
Presyncope is a condition in which the patient experiences symptoms of syncope (fainting) while standing up or walking. The most common symptom is fainting spells during speech, but it may occur at any time during the day or night.
The exact cause of the condition is unknown, but there are several theories. Some believe that it’s due to a lack of blood flow to the brain caused by the pressure from standing up. Others think that it’s due to a buildup of fluid in the body caused by stress or anxiety.
Still others say that it could be due to a combination of factors such as high altitude, low oxygen levels and other health problems.
Some of the symptoms include:
Fainting spells during speech (vocal tics)
Nausea and vomiting (emesis)
Shortness of breath (pulselessness)
Chest pain and shortness of breath (ventricular fibrillation)
Other symptoms include:
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A sudden drop in blood pressure, usually occurring within seconds to minutes after standing up. This may cause a pale or bluish skin around the lips, ears, and fingertips.
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Dizziness and severe lightheadedness (diaphoresis).
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Loss of vision or hearing (acusis or amensia)
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A loss of sensation in the body (anesthesia).
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The most important aspect of treatment is simply staying calm. Try to remain sitting or reclined until the symptoms have passed. This should alleviate most of the symptoms and reduce the likelihood of a full-blown fainting spell.
After the condition has passed, make sure to go to a safe location and rest until you are feeling better.
If the patient experiences any of the following symptoms, then they should seek emergency medical attention immediately:
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Difficulty breathing (dyspnea)
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A slow or irregular heartbeat (cardiac arrest)
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Severe chest pain (myocardial infarction)
If you experience presyncope on a regular basis, your primary care doctor may recommend that you get an electrocardiogram to determine whether or not your heart is functioning properly.
Sources & references used in this article:
A young man with palpitations and pre-syncope by D Chatterjee – Bmj, 2017 – bmj.com
What Happens before Syncope? Study of the Time Frame Preceding Vasovagal Syncope by A Lagi, S Cencetti, A Cartei – International Scholarly Research Notices, 2011 – hindawi.com
Workshop 3C: Dizziness in Older Adults by V Johnston – laterlifetraining.co.uk
Arterial baroreflexes and cardiovascular modeling by DL Eckberg – Cardiovascular Engineering, 2008 – Springer
The choice of surgical specialization by medical students and their syncopal history by J Rudnicki, D Zyśko, D Kozłowski, W Kuliczkowski… – PloS one, 2013 – journals.plos.org
Postexercise hypotension and sustained postexercise vasodilatation: what happens after we exercise? by JR Halliwill, TM Buck, AN Lacewell… – Experimental …, 2013 – Wiley Online Library
Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Young Athletes by L SCHIFF – enloe.org
The safety of sportive chokes: a cross-sectional survey-based study by SJ Stellpflug, BR Schindler, JJ Corry… – The Physician and …, 2020 – Taylor & Francis
Glucose reduces the effect of water to promote orthostatic tolerance by CC Lu, MH Li, ST Ho, CL Lu, JC Lin… – American journal of …, 2008 – academic.oup.com
