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What Causes Syncope While Coughing?
Question: Hello.....I am first having a foot problem that a local Doctor is looking at......Unrelated to this - I get this cough and for a small amount of time I lose conscienceness.....like going to sleep. It is happening more often lately and is very scary
Brief Answer:
could be very serious
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question.
When you lose consciousness like that it is called syncope and there are many possible causes. You need to see your doctor to start an evaluation and find the cause as soon as possible.
I will give you some possible causes and some suggestions of things to do immediately but please see your doctor as soon as possible to begin having this looked evaluated.
This type of loss of consciousness for brief periods of time can come either from a problem with your heart or a problem with your nervous system.
In the case of a heart problem it could be that when you cough it puts pressure on the heart and vessels and causes a rhythm disturbance. This abnormal rhythm may cause a loss of oxygen to the brain.
In the case of a neurologic cause, it could be that there is some abnormality in the brain and when you cause it puts more pressure on this and you get a passing out spell again because you are not getting enough oxygen to the brain.
Make sure you are avoiding coughs as much as possible.
Drink plenty of water.
Avoid alcohol, smoking, caffeine and decongestants.
See your doctor today or as soon as possible.
If you cannot see your doctor today and this is happening frequently then you should probably go to Emergency to have this figured out.
Regards,
Dr. Robinson
could be very serious
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question.
When you lose consciousness like that it is called syncope and there are many possible causes. You need to see your doctor to start an evaluation and find the cause as soon as possible.
I will give you some possible causes and some suggestions of things to do immediately but please see your doctor as soon as possible to begin having this looked evaluated.
This type of loss of consciousness for brief periods of time can come either from a problem with your heart or a problem with your nervous system.
In the case of a heart problem it could be that when you cough it puts pressure on the heart and vessels and causes a rhythm disturbance. This abnormal rhythm may cause a loss of oxygen to the brain.
In the case of a neurologic cause, it could be that there is some abnormality in the brain and when you cause it puts more pressure on this and you get a passing out spell again because you are not getting enough oxygen to the brain.
Make sure you are avoiding coughs as much as possible.
Drink plenty of water.
Avoid alcohol, smoking, caffeine and decongestants.
See your doctor today or as soon as possible.
If you cannot see your doctor today and this is happening frequently then you should probably go to Emergency to have this figured out.
Regards,
Dr. Robinson
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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