Dear Mayo Clinic: I had a fainting spell the other day, which had never happened to me before in my 64 years. I don’t feel unwell, but a friend I was with at the time insists I should see my doctor.

In the absence of structural heart disease (including a normal ECG), syncope is most often of neurally mediated reflex origin or orthostatic hypotension. As a rule, reflex etiologies predominate in ...

As is apparent by the potential cardiac causes listed above, the causes of syncope are so varied - and occasionally obscure - that syncope can be an expensive diagnostic and management challenge.

Background A 90-year-old woman presented to a hospital emergency department with a brief loss of consciousness that was heralded by spinning vertigo lasting approximately 2 min. She had a long history ...

What is necessary? What is superfluous? One in three persons will experience syncope. Other causes of brief loss of consciousness need to be differentiated: brain stem ischemia, epileptic seizures, ...

Q: Syncope - Passing Out During Races: We have a senior runner on our cross country team who has been experiencing some problems during races for the past 2 years. While he can run and train with no ...