How To Pass Out

Damaged heart muscle, blocked or narrowed blood vessels (coronary heart disease), and other kinds of ticker trouble can stop enough blood loaded with oxygen from getting to your brain. When it makes you pass out, it’s called cardiac syncope. It may happen without warning, sometimes repeatedly over a period of weeks. See your doctor right away if you suspect this or also have chest pain, arrhythmia, fatigue, or other symptoms.

What Makes You Faint?

Dehydration can happen if you don’t drink enough or you lose too much fluid. Then your blood pressure drops and your nervous system can’t control it well, which could make you faint. That’s why it’s a good idea to get plenty of water, especially when it’s hot outside. If your pee isn’t clear, you may need a bit more to drink.

Arrhythmia

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It means your heart has an irregular beat. That sometimes slows the flow and amount of blood that gets to your brain, which can make you pass out. It may be the first or only obvious symptom of the problem. See your doctor right away if you suspect arrhythmia because it could be a sign of a serious heart problem that needs treatment.

Cyanotic Breath-Holding

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It happens mostly in kids between ages 6 months and 5 years. They cry hard enough to cut off oxygen and trigger an automatic response that makes them faint. They may turn blue, pass out for about a minute, and seem groggy afterward. They don’t do it on purpose. It’s a reflex they can’t control. Though it’s scary to see at first, it’s nothing to worry about and might even happen repeatedly.

Pallid Breath-Holding

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This one also happens mainly in young kids. A sudden fright or pain causes the heart to stop for a few seconds. With no sound, a child might open their mouth before turning very pale and passing out for about a minute. Pallid breath-holding sometimes happens after your child gets hurt. It’s not the injury itself that causes this automatic response, but the shock of it. It should go away by age 5.

Low Blood Sugar

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The medical term is hypoglycemia. It may make you dizzy, shaky, tired, confused, and blur your vision. You can usually fix the problem if you get a few grams of carbs from juice or candy. Otherwise, you could pass out. If that happens, you need medicine called glucagon to help your body release more sugar.

Diabetes

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High blood sugar from diabetes can damage the nerves in your body that help keep your blood pressure steady. That could lead to unusually low blood pressure that makes you pass out.

Medicine

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Some medications, like high blood pressure drugs and antidepressants, affect the way your heart and blood vessels act when you stand. This can drop your blood pressure and make you pass out. Insulin used to lower blood sugar when you have diabetes might cause hypoglycemia that also leads to fainting. In older people, different drugs sometimes combine with illness and the situation you’re in — like standing in a hot room — to make you faint.

Seizure

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It’s a sudden change in the brain’s normal electrical signals. Some symptoms, like eyes rolling back and jerking movements, may be similar to breath-holding. The difference is seizures make you unconscious for minutes, not seconds, and might make you lose control of your bladder. And you could see flashes of light or get unusual smells or tastes with no obvious source. See your doctor if you suspect a seizure.

Standing Up

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If you faint when you rise, you could have a condition called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). It increases your pulse too much when you stand or sit up. You might feel sick, dizzy, shaky, or sweaty, and your heart may skip a beat. And you could pass out. It can help to drink plenty of fluids, limit caffeine and alcohol, and try to get up more slowly. Your doctor may suggest medicine to treat it.

Heart Problems

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Damaged heart muscle, blocked or narrowed blood vessels (coronary heart disease), and other kinds of ticker trouble can stop enough blood loaded with oxygen from getting to your brain. When it makes you pass out, it’s called cardiac syncope. It may happen without warning, sometimes repeatedly over a period of weeks. See your doctor right away if you suspect this or also have chest pain, arrhythmia, fatigue, or other symptoms.

Reflex Fainting

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The technical term for this is vasovagal syncope. Your body overreacts to the sight of blood, sudden intense emotion, fear of injury, or something else that jars you. Your heart rate slows as blood vessels widen and blood pools in your legs, away from your brain. You may be cold, clammy, pale, and nauseated right before it happens. If you feel like you might faint, lie down and raise your legs.

Hyperventilation

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You feel like you can’t get enough air, so you start to breathe in more quickly. Though it’s unclear why, this makes blood vessels around your brain shrink, which limits oxygen and makes you lightheaded and possibly faint. Fear, rather than a physical problem, usually causes it, though you can bring it on if you hold your breath. Your hands, feet, and mouth might also tingle.

Coughing

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Especially if it’s deep and you can’t stop, it might prevent your blood from getting enough oxygen, which could make you faint. It’s more common in babies with pertussis, but it can happen to anyone. Asthma, which makes it harder to breathe, may have the same effect. Get to a hospital right away if you have a serious asthma attack or pass out from coughing.

Drinking Alcohol

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It causes your blood vessels to expand, which can lead to a drop in your blood pressure. You can pass out when you drink so much that you reach a dangerously high blood alcohol concentration.

Your Collar’s Too Tight

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Carotid sinus syncope, or “tight-collar syndrome,” happens when something pushes on nerves at a wide part of your carotid artery in your neck. This slows your heartbeat and interferes with blood flow to the brain and makes you faint. It happens quickly and without other symptoms like nausea, paleness, and sweating. In some cases, if it hasn’t happened before, it may be a sign of narrowed arteries that need treatment.

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American Diabetes Association: “Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Glucose).”

American Heart Association: “Syncope (Fainting).”

AsthmaSymptoms.org: “Fainting — A Serious Symptom of Asthma.”

Boston College Alcohol and Drug Education Program: “Blacking Out Vs. Passing Out.”

Child Neurology Foundation: “Breath-Holding Spells.”

Emergency Medicine Journal: “Syncope And Breath Holding.”

Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Syncope.”

Harvard Health Publishing: “Hypoglycemia.”

Heart Rhythm Society: “Fainting.”

Mayo Clinic: “Vasovagal syncope,” “Dehydration.”

Medscape: “Carotid Sinus Hypersensitivity.”

Merck Manual: “Shortness of Breath,” “Fainting.”

NHS Choices: “Postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS),” “Breath-holding spells in children,” “Fainting.”

Fainting

Fainting, or passing out, is a temporary loss of consciousness from a sudden decrease of blood flow to your brain. An episode usually lasts a few seconds or minutes. Most are harmless, but if you faint often or have other symptoms, you should seek medical attention.

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Overview

What is fainting?

Fainting is a short-term loss of consciousness. It happens because of a sudden drop in blood flow to your brain. A fainting episode usually lasts a few seconds or minutes. Then, you wake up and return to normal.

Other names for fainting are:

Decreased consciousness.
Loss of consciousness.
Passing out.
Syncope.

Are there stages or different severity levels of fainting?

Signs you’re about to faint may include feeling:

Cold and clammy.
Dizzy.
Lightheaded.
Hot and suddenly sweaty.
Sick to your stomach.
Stressed out or anxious.
Weak.

In addition, you may:

Fall down.
Get a headache.
Have vision changes (“white out,” “black out” or “see stars” after having blurry or tunnel vision).
Hear ringing in your ears.
Lose control of your muscles.

For a few hours after fainting, you may feel tired or just not quite right.

Possible Causes

What are the most common causes of fainting?

The most common reason for fainting is a sudden drop in blood pressure, which reduces blood flow and oxygen to your brain. There are many reasons why a drop in blood pressure could lead to a temporary loss of consciousness:

Cardiac syncope: This type of syncope involves fainting because of a heart problem. Many heart conditions can affect how much oxygenated blood your heart can pump to your brain. This type makes up 15% of fainting incidents.
Carotid sinus syncope: This type of syncope can happen when something pinches or constricts the carotid artery in your neck. The carotid artery is a blood vessel that supplies your brain. This type of fainting can occur when someone wears a very tight collar, stretches or turns their neck too much, or has a bone in their neck that’s pinching their artery.
Vasovagal syncope: This can occur when a person experiences a stressful event. Examples include the sight of blood, emotional stress, physical trauma, emotional trauma or pain. The stressful event stimulates a bodily reflex called the vasovagal reaction. Your heart slows down and pumps less blood, so your blood pressure drops. Then, your brain doesn’t get enough oxygenated blood, and you faint. Certain bodily movements or functions also can naturally cause a drop in blood pressure that may lead to fainting spells. Examples include when a person pees, poops, coughs or stretches.

Other possible causes of fainting

You may faint because of:

Certain medications that treat high blood pressure, such as diuretics (water pills), calcium channel blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. Other examples include nitrates for heart disease, antipsychotics for mental health disorders, antihistamines for allergies and opioids for pain.
Dehydration or overheating.
A neurologic condition, such as a seizure disorder or stroke.
A sudden drop in blood sugar, as may happen in a person who has diabetes.
An unknown reason, which happens in up to 50% of fainting cases.

Activities that may cause you to faint

Things you do with your body that can make you faint include:

Skipping too many meals.
Hyperventilating (breathing too fast).
Working, playing or exercising too hard, especially in the heat.
Standing up too quickly.
Using alcohol, marijuana or illegal drugs.

Care and Treatment

How is fainting treated?

A healthcare provider can work with you to determine the cause of your fainting. They can provide treatment if you need it.

People — often age 65+ — who faint when they stand up too quickly may need:

Medications.
Compression stockings.
More fluids and salt.
Leg exercises.

If a diagnosed heart issue made you faint, a provider may recommend:

Medication.
Pacemaker.
Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).
Catheter ablation.
Heart valve replacement.

People with carotid sinus syncope may need:

Medication.
Pacemaker.

If fainting isn’t a frequent problem, many people don’t need treatment beyond what you can provide yourself.

First aid for fainting

If someone loses consciousness:

Make sure the person’s airway is clear.
Check that the person is breathing.
Check that their heart is beating.
Call 911 or seek immediate medical attention if they’re hurt.
Start CPR if the person isn’t breathing or if you don’t feel a pulse.
Ask someone to look for an automated external defibrillator (AED) if needed.

When someone faints and then wakes up:

Encourage them to sit down or lie down for 10 to 15 minutes (sometimes longer, until symptoms pass).
Check for any injuries that might need medical attention (such as a head injury or a cut).
Suggest that they sit forward and lower their head below their shoulders and knees.
Offer ice or cold water.

What are the possible complications or risks of not treating fainting?

Fainting can happen again in people who have untreated fainting causes.

People who faint because of low blood pressure when they stand up (orthostatic hypotension) may be at risk of injury from falling when they faint.

Cardiac syncope is a sign that you may have a heart issue that can be fatal. You may have an abnormal heart rhythm or an issue with a part of your heart, such as a valve. Without treatment, people who have cardiac syncope are at least twice as likely to have a car accident as the general population.

Can fainting be prevented?

Yes, you can prevent fainting when you know what causes you to faint. Pay attention to specific activities or situations that make you faint. For example, if getting up too quickly sometimes makes you faint, learn to take your time standing up. You can also move your legs to help your blood move before you stand up.

If you notice how you feel just before you faint, you can try certain strategies to prevent it:

Make a fist with your hand.
Tense your arms.
Cross your legs.
Squeeze your thighs together.
Lie down.
Sit, lean forward and put your head between your knees.

When to Call the Doctor

When should fainting be treated by a doctor or healthcare provider?

If you faint once and are in good health otherwise, you probably don’t need to talk to a healthcare provider. But seek medical attention if you:

Have an injury from a fainting fall.
Faint while exercising.
Have repeat, frequent fainting spells.
Take longer than a few minutes to regain consciousness.

Fainting usually isn’t a sign of a serious health issue, but it can be. Talk to a healthcare provider if you faint and have any of the following symptoms:

Blurry vision.
Chest pain.
Confusion or trouble talking.
Irregular heartbeat.
Loss of control with peeing or pooping.
Shortness of breath.

Also, report any loss of consciousness to a healthcare provider if you:

Are pregnant.
Have diabetes.
Have a problem with your heart or blood pressure.
Have a family history of sudden death.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Fainting, or passing out, usually happens because of a drop in blood pressure, which reduces blood flow and oxygen to your brain. Most fainting spells are nothing to worry about. But talk to a healthcare provider if you lose consciousness repeatedly or have any other symptoms. Finding the cause can help you take action to prevent future fainting spells.

Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 03/14/2023.

References

American Academy of Family Physicians. Fainting. (https://familydoctor.org/condition/fainting/?adfree=true) Accessed 3/14/2023.
Goldberger ZD, Ruzieh M, Grubb P. Diagnosis and Management of Syncope. In: Fuster V, Narula J, Vaishnava P, Leon MB, Callans DJ, et al., eds. Fuster and Hurst’s The Heart. 15th ed. McGraw Hill; 2022.
Klein GJ. Bradycardia: Causes of Pauses. In: Prystowsky EN, Klein GJ, Daubert JP, eds. Cardiac Arrhythmias: Interpretation, Diagnosis, and Treatment. 2nd ed. McGraw Hill; 2020.
Merck Manual Consumer Version. Fainting. (https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/heart-and-blood-vessel-disorders/symptoms-of-heart-and-blood-vessel-disorders/fainting) Accessed 3/14/2023.
Mizrachi EM, Sitammagari KK. Cardiac Syncope. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526027/) [Updated 2022 April 14]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Accessed 3/14/2023.
Momodu II, Okafor CN. Orthostatic Syncope. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537285/) [Updated 2022 Jul 4]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Accessed 3/14/2023.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Syncope Information Page. (https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Syncope-Information-Page) Accessed 3/14/2023.
U.S. National Library of Medicine. Fainting. (https://medlineplus.gov/fainting.html) Accessed 3/14/2023.

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