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Fainted And Had Low Blood Pressure. Family History Of Kidney Cancer. Should I Be Concerned?
Question: my partner shouted me at 3am this morning he was on the toilet, he had had a curry at 20.00hours but nothing else, after he had shouted me i heard a loud bang where he had fainted, he is 6ft 7, he was pale clammy and grey, i took his blood pressure as i am a dementia nurse, his bp was 67/40 pulse 37, he bagan to hold his head up slightly but he clearly was very sleepy i gave him a drink and continued to take his bp, it eventually went up to 100/70 but he has always been bradychardic, he does smoke but not heavely and owns a business, he said he felt like he needed to open his bowels but nothing happened, this is not the first time, he had an acg 2 years ago which was fine, the only other thing he has complained recently is a lower back ache both his dad and twin brother had kidney cancer when they were 41 one passed away, any advice thankyou XXXXXXX
Hi, thanks for using healthcare magic
Syncope occurs as a result of reduction of blood supply to the brain.
Syncopal episodes or fainting can be due to different causes. These causes can be divided into: (1) reduction in blood pressure with change in posture from sitting to standing (2) related to disease of the structure of the heart (3) due to an abnormal rhythm of the heart (4) situational faints or syncope
Situational syncope is syncope that occurs in particular instances that cause unusual stimulation of the nerves resulting in inhibition of part of the autonomic nervous system. This inhibition causes a decrease in blood pressure and heart rate.
Under situational faints are the following: using the bathroom to stool, fainting on coughing, sneezing, swallowing , passing urine, carotid syncope.
Situational syncope is not normally associated with any increase in mortality.
Normally the type of syncopal episode is diagnosed based on history, physical examination and investigations.
He needs to be evaluated for heart disease and arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) , sitting and standing blood pressures and a test called the tilt table test needs to be done.The tilt table test involves being placed on a table that can move a person from lying to standing, it is to assess whether a change in position can cause another episode
A repeat ECG is necessary.
If all the results are normal , then a cardiac cause of the episode can be ruled out and it can be safely classified as situational.
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask any other questions
Syncope occurs as a result of reduction of blood supply to the brain.
Syncopal episodes or fainting can be due to different causes. These causes can be divided into: (1) reduction in blood pressure with change in posture from sitting to standing (2) related to disease of the structure of the heart (3) due to an abnormal rhythm of the heart (4) situational faints or syncope
Situational syncope is syncope that occurs in particular instances that cause unusual stimulation of the nerves resulting in inhibition of part of the autonomic nervous system. This inhibition causes a decrease in blood pressure and heart rate.
Under situational faints are the following: using the bathroom to stool, fainting on coughing, sneezing, swallowing , passing urine, carotid syncope.
Situational syncope is not normally associated with any increase in mortality.
Normally the type of syncopal episode is diagnosed based on history, physical examination and investigations.
He needs to be evaluated for heart disease and arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) , sitting and standing blood pressures and a test called the tilt table test needs to be done.The tilt table test involves being placed on a table that can move a person from lying to standing, it is to assess whether a change in position can cause another episode
A repeat ECG is necessary.
If all the results are normal , then a cardiac cause of the episode can be ruled out and it can be safely classified as situational.
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask any other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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