Fainting... causes ?

[bit of a chicken]

I have recently had four bouts of fainting just after exercise . I have dots in my eyes then faint , out , not for long from what I can determine. I have surgically corrected coarctation , bicuspid valve etc . I have recently seen cardio and he is perfectly satisfied. I have in past suffered high blood pressure as result of coarc and mild renarrowing at site of repair . My blood pressure has been closely monitored for past six months and is better than it has been in a year . So , back to my fainting , have three children and my biggest concern is I do not wish them to witness this and it does seem related to exercise , despite pacing myself and being sensible it would seem to persist ?

I have visited my gp regarding this , got a very nice locum , who did not seem concerned at all . I am now wondering if I should go back again , ( just to feel like a major hypochondriac and pain in the - ss !!, which I will dislike ) seems a bit odd and not usual for a youngish person of 37 . Find gp surgery very pleasant but wonder if I ought to contact cardio direct and maybe ask for stress test or something ? Thoughts anyone .... oh , and thanks !

 

[Nancy]

Fainting is not just "one of those things"! It is to be taken seriously, especially with heart issues! My husband had several bouts of fainting, and he was having slow heart beats. He had a pacemaker implanted and that took care of it.

But fainting can come from many things. It could even be your medications. If you are on blood pressure medication, and your pressure gets too low, it can cause fainting.

Your doctor has to discover what the problem is.

What if you were going up or down stairs, what if you were driving, what if you were crossing the street. You could injure or kill yourself or someone else.

Make your doctor pay attention to this symptom. Maybe you need a heart monitor for a while to see about the rhythm.

Honestly--some doctors!

 

[ALCapshaw2]

YES, Talk to your Cardiologist about your fainting episodes. You need to find the Cause and get that Fixed.

As Nancy said, Low Blood Pressure and/or a Slow Heart Rate can be the culprit.
A 24 Hour Holter Monitor can detect Heart Beat issues.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Dale 1]

Are you taking beta blockers? They made me feel distinctly odd and near-fainting. I agree that you need to follow up on this. This is not a normal state of affairs.

 

[Luana]

As always, Nancy is spot-on. It's not normal to faint. You're not being a hypochondriac. Someone needs to find out what's going on with you.

 

[hensylee]

my dr mistakenly doubled my bp med and I was passing out all over the place. very dangerous. certainly there are other causes - you must find out. blessins..........

 

[Lynlw]

I would definately press until you get answers WHY you are fainting, As Nancy said there can be many causes of it., lows blood pressure , meds or nothing related to your heart. I used to faint left and right when I was in my 20s.I always had enough warning (black and white spots/stars and weird/foggy feeling) that IF there was a chair and I could sit and put my head down Or if I had a person right next to me, I could say I' going to faint catch me,and at least I wouldn't hit the ground. (Don thought I was kidding the first time so i woke up on the side walk in downtown philly I was NOT happy)
Anyway, It turned out I had hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) that they found doing a 6 hour glucose test, so when I ate small things thru out the day, the fainting stopped. Sometimes I forget or don't eat, but when I start getting feeling a weird way i now recognise, if I eat something small and quick like peanut butter crackers or even beef jerky (which is easy to keep in my purse since it is small and last forever) or drink juice, all of a sudden I can feel the difference.
Mine turned out to be an easy fix, no meds or surgery needed, hopefully they will be able to get to the bottom of why you are passing out and it will be simple too.

BTW I am NOT saying you have hypoglycemia, but I also only was out for a short time. Often as soon as I hit the floor I'll wake up. But thinking back, I DO remember, that it would often happen after excersise. That my doctor at the time said, it made sense since Excercise usually (like everything else, not always) drops blood sugar. So I'd have a SMALL snack before excercise and it helped me alot.

 

[Gnusgal]

I agree with all of the above. Fainting is not something that should be dismissed. If your GP won't listen, find a new one. I also think you should talk to your cardiologist. Either a 24 hour heart monitor or a stress test may be in order.

 

[bit of a chicken]

Thanks everyone ... much as I will feel a nuisance , am going to return to GP surgery ( avoiding the nice locum , this time ) . Nancy , had not thought about dangerous aspect , so seems sensible to go back. Am not on BP meds, and Lyn I eat loads !! Ha , want to sort this out , feel abit cross that Gp are sometimes so dismissive ... Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and taking time to respond.