Understand What Causes Unexplained Fainting

• Symptoms, Causes & Risk Factors
• Your Healthcare Team
• Your Diagnosis
• Tests to Determine the Cause of Fainting
• Common Questions

What Causes Fainting? Why do I faint? - Unexplained Fainting

Fainting is a brief and sudden loss of consciousness. It happens when your blood pressure drops and not enough oxygen reaches your brain. Fainting, “passing out” or “blacking out” are also referred to as syncope (pronounced “sing ko pee”).

Usually, someone who faints regains consciousness right away, sometimes after a brief period of confusion.

Fainting is more common than you might imagine. As much as 50% of the U.S. population may experience a fainting event during a lifetime.¹ Fainting accounts for 1-3% of emergency department visits and 6% of hospital admissions in the U.S. each year.¹

Syncope affects people of all ages, both with and without other medical conditions.

Symptoms, Causes & Risk Factors
Find out about common syncope symptoms, causes, and risk factors.

Your Healthcare Team
Your healthcare team may include specialists who diagnose fainting episodes.

Your Diagnosis
If a heart condition may be causing the fainting, you may undergo diagnostic testing.

Common Questions
It’s normal to have many questions about your condition and the treatments for it.