“Flu cannot be carried on your feet. The virus affects blood vessels, and with any movement a person risks fainting

Loss of consciousness is a condition that occurs when the brain begins to experience hypoxia - a lack of oxygen. Very often, people briefly lose consciousness in stuffy rooms, from heat or hunger, and when they come to their senses, they do not experience negative consequences. But fainting with convulsions carries a serious danger and is often accompanied by severe complications for the nervous system.

Causes of pathology

Convulsive fainting is often confused with an epileptic seizure, since the external manifestations are very similar to each other. But epilepsy is an independent neurological disease, characterized by convulsive attacks both without loss of consciousness and with loss. Fainting with convulsions is a consequence of severe oxygen starvation, which can occur due to various diseases or from exposure to external factors.

Unlike the usual loss of consciousness with convulsions, which is characterized by signs indicating a lack of oxygen, an epileptic seizure begins suddenly.

Loss of consciousness with convulsions occurs when the neurons of the cerebral cortex are overexcited, when, under the influence of a negative factor, the brain begins to lack oxygen. It is this section that is responsible for muscle contraction. Depending on which part sends the signal, cramps occur in different parts of the body. The intensity of muscle contraction and the condition of the blood vessels determine whether a person will faint or not.

Loss of consciousness with convulsions may be caused by congenital or acquired diseases of the central nervous system:

Also, convulsions with loss of consciousness can occur against the background of severe nervous tension, shock, at very high temperatures, or severe intoxication. Fainting occurs very rarely when there is a violation of the blood composition, for example, with severe magnesium deficiency.

The main causes of this condition in childhood:

Seizures occur in children whose nervous system was damaged during fetal development. Most often, convulsions with loss of consciousness in a child can occur in the first months of life and up to three years - it is during this period that the formation of the nervous system occurs.

How to recognize and stop an attack?

At the first attack, a person begins to get scared, and the growing panic only aggravates his condition. A fall during a non-epileptic seizure is characterized by signs that can be used to determine that a person may faint.

Symptoms

Before loss of consciousness, the following symptoms occur:

With a high febrile temperature, the child experiences a glazed look, body tension, and only then muscle spasms begin. Seizures similar to epileptic seizures often occur in alcohol-dependent people after heavy drinking. This occurs due to brain intoxication and potassium deficiency in the blood. In such patients, convulsions begin already in an unconscious state and can last for quite a long time.

Convulsions can begin immediately upon loss of consciousness, but when a person faints, they almost always stop. Or vice versa, spasms begin after loss of consciousness. Another development option may occur: first, a fall occurs, but if the victim does not come to his senses for a long period, and breathing does not normalize, then the brain, suffering from hypoxia, sends a signal to the muscles, and convulsions begin.

Consequences

With a one-time loss of consciousness with convulsions, one can judge that this condition was caused by external factors. If attacks are repeated regularly, the reason lies inside the body. That is why it is necessary to undergo a full examination to identify the cause of fainting with muscle spasms. After diagnosis, treatment is prescribed that completely eliminates the problem or prevents the development of convulsive conditions.

If you do not begin to treat the disease, complications will gradually develop, which cannot always be eliminated. Frequent oxygen deprivation leads to the death of brain cells, which disrupts many functions: motor, thinking, speech. Damage to the central nervous system can be irreversible, and household skills are lost, the person becomes irritable and sometimes aggressive. Against the background of this condition, mental illnesses often develop.

If a person has lost consciousness and is having convulsions, it is important to prevent him from harming himself. In an uncontrolled state, he can receive not only abrasions and bruises, but also more serious injuries:

1. Fractures.
2. Spinal damage.
3. Chest injuries.
4. Tongue biting.
5. Concussion and brain contusion.

First aid

At the first symptoms of fainting, it is very important to provide first aid, this will avoid an attack. The most important thing is to put the patient to bed and provide access to fresh air. If loss of consciousness has already developed and the person has fallen, then you can help him in the following way:

A person who has lost consciousness but is already regaining consciousness should not be allowed to make sudden movements. He should lie down for 10 minutes, then sit down and after half an hour he can take a vertical position. At first, it is advisable not to give him a lot to drink to prevent vomiting; you can give him a few sips of warm water.

Fainting characterized by generalized muscle weakness, decreased postural tone, inability to stand upright, and loss of consciousness. The term weakness means lack of strength with a feeling of impending loss of consciousness. At the beginning of fainting, the patient is always in an upright position, i.e. he sits or stands, the exception being an Adams-Stokes attack. Usually the patient has a premonition of impending fainting - a feeling of “not feeling well” arises. Then there is a feeling of movement or swaying of the floor and surrounding objects, the patient yawns, spots appear before the eyes, vision is weakened, tinnitus may occur, nausea and sometimes vomiting appear. The face becomes pale or ashen in color, and very often the patient's body is covered in cold sweat. With the slow development of fainting, the patient can prevent a fall and injury, and if he quickly assumes a horizontal position, there may not be a complete loss of consciousness.

Depth and duration unconscious states are different. Sometimes the patient is not completely disconnected from the outside world, but sometimes a deep coma may develop with complete loss of consciousness and lack of reactions to external stimuli. The patient can remain in this state for several seconds or minutes, and sometimes even for about half an hour. As a rule, the patient lies motionless, the skeletal muscles are relaxed, but immediately after loss of consciousness, clonic twitching of the muscles of the face and torso may occur. The functions of the pelvic organs are usually monitored. The pulse is weak, sometimes not palpable; blood pressure may be low, breathing may be almost unnoticeable. As soon as the patient assumes a horizontal position, blood flows to the brain. The pulse becomes stronger, breathing becomes more frequent and deeper, complexion normalizes, consciousness is restored. From this moment, the patient begins to adequately perceive the surrounding situation, but feels severe physical weakness, and too hasty an attempt to get up can lead to repeated fainting. The headache, drowsiness, and confusion that characterize the postictal period do not occur after syncope.

Etiology

The causes of repeated attacks of weakness and disturbances of consciousness may be the following.

Hemodynamic (decreased cerebral blood flow)

Inappropriate mechanisms of vasoconstriction:

• Vasovagal (vasodilator)

  Postural hypotension

  Primary failure of the autonomic nervous system

  Sympathectomy (pharmacologic for antihypertensives such as alpha-methyldopa and apressin, or surgical)

  Diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system, including autonomic nerve fibers

  Sinocarotid syncope

Hypovolemia:

• Blood loss due to gastrointestinal bleeding

  Addison's disease

  Mechanical limitation of venous return:

  Valsalva maneuver

• Urination

  Atrial myxoma, globular valve thrombus

Decreased cardiac output:

• Obstruction of blood ejection from the left ventricle: aortic stenosis, hypertrophic subaortic stenosis

  Obstruction of blood flow through the pulmonary artery; pulmonary stenosis, primary pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary embolism

  Extensive myocardial infarction with pumping failure

  Cardiac tamponade

Arrhythmias:

• Bradyarrhythmias:

  • atrioventricular block (second and third degree) with Adams-Stokes attacks

    ventricular asystole

    sinus bradycardia, sinoatrial block, cessation of sinus node activity, sick sinus syndrome

    sinocarotid syncope

    neuralgia of the glossopharyngeal nerve

Tachyarrhythmias:

• intermittent ventricular fibrillation with or without bradyarrhythmias

  ventricular tachycardia

  supraventricular tachycardia without atrioventricular block

Other causes of weakness and periodic disturbances of consciousness

Changes in blood composition:

• Hypoxia

• Decrease in CO 2 concentration due to hyperventilation (more often - a feeling of weakness, less often - fainting)

  Hypoglycemia (usually periodic attacks of weakness, sometimes a feeling of lightheadedness, rarely fainting)

Cerebral disorders:

• Cerebrovascular disorders (cerebral ischemic attacks):

  • circulatory failure in the extracranial vascular basins (vertebrobasilar, carotid)

    diffuse spasm of cerebral arterioles (hypertensive encephalopathy)

Emotional disorders, anxiety attacks, hysterical attacks

Most often, fainting occurs as a result of a sudden deterioration in metabolism in the brain, which is a consequence of hypotension with a decrease in cerebral blood flow.

By nature, a person has several mechanisms by which blood circulation is regulated in an upright position. Approximately 3/4 of the total blood volume is contained in the venous bed, and any disturbance of venous outflow can lead to a decrease in cardiac output. Normal blood circulation in the brain is maintained as long as systemic narrowing of the arteries occurs. When this consistency is disrupted, a decrease in blood pressure occurs and, as a consequence, a decrease in cerebral blood flow. Reducing it by 50% of the normal level leads to fainting. Normally, the accumulation of blood in the lower parts of the body is prevented by pressor reflexes, causing a narrowing of peripheral arterioles and venules; reflex enhancement of cardiac activity through the aortic and carotid reflexes and improvement of the flow of venous blood to the heart when the muscles of the limbs work. If a healthy person is placed on an inclined plane so that the muscles relax, and then transferred to a vertical position, the cardiac output will decrease slightly, which will allow blood to accumulate in the lower extremities. The result will be a moderate, transient decrease in systolic blood pressure, which may cause a feeling of weakness in patients with impaired vasomotor reactions.

Types of fainting

Vasovagal (vasoconstrictor) syncope

This type of fainting condition can develop in healthy people. It often occurs repeatedly, triggered by stressful situations (stuffy, crowded rooms), shocking events, and intense painful stimulation. In susceptible individuals, fainting may occur due to mild blood loss, poor health, prolonged bed rest, anemia, fever, organic heart disease, or fasting. The short-term prodromal period is characterized by nausea, increased sweating, yawning, unpleasant sensations in the epigastrium, hyperpnea, tachypnea and dilated pupils. There is a decrease in blood pressure and general vascular resistance (especially in the vascular bed of skeletal muscles).

Fainting is a mild degree of acute vascular insufficiency, which is manifested by a sudden decrease in blood supply to the brain and loss of consciousness.

Such conditions occur regularly and can pass without a trace, but sometimes they indicate severe diseases of internal organs, intoxication, mental disorders, etc. Let us next consider the main types of fainting and the situations that provoke them.

There are several groups of reasons why a person may lose consciousness:

The following common variants of loss of consciousness are distinguished:

First . Vasovagal syncope (syn. vasodepressor syncope) develops due to a perverted reaction of the body to stimuli from the receptors of the autonomic nervous system - the department that is responsible for the functioning of internal organs.

The main factors contributing to this condition may be:

• Emotional shock (fear of the sight of blood, etc.).
• Painful sensations when performing tests.
• Long-term compression of the neck organs.
• Abrupt cessation of physical exercise, etc.

Vasovagal syncope is characterized by pathological rapid dilation of blood vessels, a decrease in heart rate and depression of respiratory processes.

Consciousness usually returns within a few minutes without additional outside help.

In some cases, vasovagal syncope can be caused by mental disorders, the treatment of which will eliminate such situations in the future.

Patient L., of asthenic build, 26 years old, complained of a short-term loss of consciousness during a blood test.

According to a relative who was nearby at that moment, the condition was short-lived and was accompanied by paleness of the face, focusing of the gaze at one point and wide open eyes.

She contacted a neurologist and was sent for additional examinations: ECG, CBC, cerebral encephalography, etc. No somatic pathology was found.

• Normalize sleep and rest patterns
• Nutritious food
• A course of taking sedatives
• Consultation with a psychologist

Second . Fainting in people with vegetative-vascular dystonia occurs due to a labile vasomotor system and an unstable psyche.

Patients with vegetative-vascular dystonia do not tolerate changes in climate, weather, heavy physical activity or emotional shocks.

One of the forms of manifestation of vegetative-vascular dystonia is a fainting state.

With excitement, stress, donating blood, or being in a poorly ventilated room for a long time, the patient may faint, but after a few minutes regain consciousness, suffering from minor bruises.

There are also other situations that occur with loss of consciousness, which are caused by such pathological conditions as:

In addition to the main mechanisms causing loss and clouding of consciousness, there are a number of factors that contribute to their development:

There are many reasons and conditions that can cause a person to faint, most of them do not require serious treatment and are simply a coincidence.

Others, on the contrary, talk about serious disruptions in the body. Therefore, every such incident should be a reason to visit a doctor.

Do you still think that it is impossible to GET RID of frequent fainting!?

Have you ever encountered a pre-fainting state or syncope that simply “knocks you out of the rut” and the usual rhythm of life!? Judging by the fact that you are now reading this article, then you know firsthand what it is:.

• an impending attack of nausea rising and growing from the stomach...
• darkening of the eyes, ringing in the ears...
• sudden feeling of weakness and fatigue, legs give way...
• panic fear...
• cold sweat, loss of consciousness...

Now answer the question: are you satisfied with this? Can ALL THIS be tolerated? How much time have you already wasted on ineffective treatment? After all, sooner or later the SITUATION WILL GET WORSE.

Fainting is a brief loss of consciousness. The cause may be a short-term decrease in cerebral blood flow.

What is fainting? Often this is an indicator of some kind of disease. Medicine has studied a variety of conditions in which fainting can occur:

• diseases manifested by a decrease in cardiac output: cardiac arrhythmias, stenosis of the aorta, pulmonary arteries, angina attacks;
• pathological conditions: fainting when swallowing, when suddenly standing up from a lying position;
• with a sharp decrease in oxygen content in the blood, other problems with the blood, with anemia, in stuffiness.

Causes of fainting

Fainting most often occurs in the following cases:

• increased intracranial pressure;
• brain pathologies;
• a sharp drop in blood pressure;
• increased sensitivity of the carotid sinus (sinocarotid syncope);
• open and closed skull injuries;
• pain shock;
• vertebral pathologies caused by osteochondrosis, congenital cervical pathologies;
• problems of metabolism of brain tissue during hypoglycemia, infections, chemical poisoning;
• seizures accompanied by hysteria;
• autonomic disorders in children and adolescents.

Very often it is a consequence of a sharp decrease in blood pressure if a person’s internal organs have not had time to adapt to changes in blood flow. In such cases, there is a feeling of malaise and lack of oxygen. This type of fainting is triggered by physical exertion.

Fainting occurs when there is a sharp decrease in blood flow due to bleeding, injury, or dehydration.

Before the onset of fainting, a person feels weakness, ringing in the ears, cold sweat, darkening of the eyes, and loss of coordination of movements.

In the absence of any serious pathologies, fainting occurs safely.

Fainting in children

Children under 2 years of age may experience convulsive fainting due to fear and pain. The cause is often increased excitability of the nervous system. Any external irritant can cause a scream, which leads to holding the breath, and a short loss of consciousness occurs.

There are cases when a convulsive attack develops at a high temperature in a child, with the flu, and fainting with convulsions may occur. The teenage body is susceptible to similar manifestations. Blood vessels do not always have time to adjust to the growth of body parts. Very often, teenagers experience fainting due to VSD (vegetative-vascular dystonia). In adolescence, they are often observed in girls. An isolated incident of fainting is not a sign of a serious illness, but it would be better to consult a pediatrician.

Let's take a closer look at what types of fainting are most common.

Fainting with epilepsy

The patterns of the course of convulsive syncope and syncope in epilepsy are significantly different. Both are characterized by loss of consciousness, convulsive manifestations, changes in blood pressure, and dilated pupils.

There are a number of distinctive signs by which the type of fainting can be determined.

Before loss of consciousness, there is a feeling of weakness, dizziness, ringing in the ears, sometimes you can just lie down to restore the body's strength. Patients with epilepsy usually feel the onset of an attack, but often an attack can begin suddenly, a person risks falling on the spot while walking, and changing the person’s position during a seizure does not normalize the condition.

A seizure can also occur in a supine position, even during sleep, and the most common fainting very rarely occurs in a supine position.

Loss of consciousness is caused by external factors, for example, psycho-emotional stress.

There are significant differences between convulsive movements. When you faint, the muscles contract and relax alternately and abruptly. Epileptic seizures are distinguished by generalized forms, when the muscles are blocked by a spasm for several minutes, a clonic spasm occurs.

Usually the phenomenon lasts a matter of seconds, the victim remembers the events taking place around him.

Overexcitability of the nervous system leads to hysterical attacks, which can quite realistically result in fainting.

Vasovagal syncope

Medical practice shows that of all fainting conditions, about half are vasovagal syncope. It appears in completely healthy people and can sometimes recur.

It can occur in a state of excitement, fear, severe fatigue, severe pain. Accompanied by arterial hypotension, bradycardia, pallor.

The phenomenon proceeds as follows. Sympathetic tone increases sharply; in some people, such an increase in sympathetic tone is unnecessary and can provoke a sharp increase in heart contractions. The nerves send intense impulses to the brain, this is accompanied by a decrease in sympathetic tone and an increase in parasympathetic tone. As a result, bradycardia develops, which leads to a decrease in blood pressure and fainting. Consciousness is restored if the patient is placed in a supine position and his legs are raised.

Vasodepressor syncope is noted by doctors as a common cause of loss of consciousness. The main reasons are severe pain and emotional stress. The muscular artery dilates, the frequency of contractions of the heart muscle falls, and blood flow decreases. It often occurs in men with severe pain.

The onset of unconsciousness does not occur immediately; initially, weakness, ringing in the ears, enlarged pupils, blurred vision, dizziness, and increased sweating appear. Then the patient loses his balance and loses consciousness. The unconscious patient is immobilized and experiences convulsions.

Blood pressure often drops to 60 mm. Bradycardia occurs. The skin is pale.

Orthostatic syncope

Such fainting develops when standing up suddenly or moving from a lying position to a standing position. The reason is a violation of the reflex mechanisms that ensure the maintenance of blood pressure when moving to a standing position. In healthy people, blood pressure decreases by 10 mmHg. Art. the heart rate increases by 15 in 1 minute, but the body’s condition quickly normalizes due to the reflex narrowing of the blood arteries.

There are two types of such fainting.

Hyperadrenergic orthostatic syncope occurs in patients with autonomic dysfunction, their manifestation is. Fainting is characterized by pronounced tachycardia.

Loss of consciousness in such a patient occurs abruptly, usually preceded by a short pre-fainting state. In a supine position, consciousness quickly returns. Further changes in the patient's position do not cause repeated fainting.

Hypoadrenergic orthostatic fainting develops with orthostatic hypotension, which is based on autonomic polyneuropathy with progressive autonomic failure, which occurs primarily or secondary (with diabetes mellitus, other pathologies).

In a supine state, the victim’s blood pressure is often elevated. Heart rate remains unchanged.

A common cause of such conditions may be long-term lying in a supine position or being in weightlessness (when flying into space).

Help with fainting

In a person in a state of loss of consciousness, the muscles of the tongue are relaxed and asphyxia may occur. It is strongly recommended to provide emergency assistance to the victim: he is placed on his side and the tongue is fixed so that it does not fall into the larynx.

It is necessary to free a person from restrictive clothing. It is very important to ensure blood flow to the brain. Next, you need to call an ambulance, because it is impossible to clearly recognize the cause of unconsciousness, for example, to distinguish fainting from coma. Ammonia, which is given to the victim to smell, often helps a lot.

Fainting, or momentary loss of consciousness, is disturbance of consciousness and balance, which occurs when the brain temporarily shuts down due to insufficient blood supply. Although cases of fainting are more common among teenagers and older adults, average person experiences fainting during one or another period of life.

There are at least eight possible causes of fainting. According to the causes, syncope can be classified: neurogenic, idiopathic, cardiovascular, vasovagal, vestibular, metabolic, hypotensive, syncope in psychiatric diseases. Knowing about these potential causes of fainting, you can actively prevent them. Some patients before syncope develops, experience dizziness, palpitations, blurred vision or hearing, their skin becomes covered cold sweat If you quickly loosen your tie or lie down on the sofa, you can interrupt the attack on pre-fainting stage.

1. Neurogenic syncope or syncope of nervous origin.
The most common reason why people experience neurogenic fainting is a reflex of the peripheral nervous system that controls blood pressure. Doctors diagnose the neurogenic nature of fainting in 24% of all cases. This type of syncopation usually occurs in people with low blood volume due to low sodium intake or high sodium losses due to diuretics. In stressful situations, for example, very high ambient temperature, sympathetic The nervous system reflexively dilates the veins to increase sweating and heat loss.

Dilatation of blood vessels causes a sharp drop in venous return to the heart. The heart reacts to changes by developing tachycardia. The merit of the wanderer nerve parasympathetic nervous system is to slow down the heart rate. Inadequate blood flow to the brain causes fainting. Soon after the patient falls, the blood supply to the brain increases and he quickly comes to his senses.

2. Idiopathic fainting or loss of consciousness of unknown origin.

Unfortunately, 24% fainting, even after a complete diagnosis, no specific cause is found. Such cases of fainting are treated mainly symptomatic means.

3. Loss of consciousness during insufficiency blood circulation
About 18% of fainting fits into this category. They may be caused by structural abnormalities in the heart and blood vessels leading to the brain ( cerebral ischemia). In other cases, it may be due to abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias).

4. Hypotensive syncope or syncope postural origin.
About 11% I have fainting postural origin . Sudden transition from lying down to a standing position leads to a drop in blood pressure.

5. Metabolic syncope or high/low blood sugar syncope.
The cause in this case is the development of hypo- or hyperglycemia. An overdose of diabetic medications is accompanied by very low blood sugar and leads to syncope. Insulin deficiency in type 1 diabetes can lead to very high blood glucose levels and secondary high levels of ketone bodies. This leads to a more serious type of syncope, where the patient may fall into a coma if the condition is not treated promptly.

6. Neuropathological fainting or loss of consciousness due to diseases of the central nervous system.
This may happen due to pressure tumors on brain tissue or due to bleeding into the brain (hematoma).

7. Loss of consciousness in mental illness.
May be observed with hysteria and anxiety.

8. Situational fainting.
Loss of consciousness occurs with severe emotional shock, anxiety, and worry.