Nocturnal fainting

[ecogirl]

For over 10 years I have been having occasional to frequent what I have come to call

[lauren7960]

Get your blood pressure checked. Sometimes when you are at rest or relaxing, your blood pressure can drop fast and cause a fainting feeling or heaviness. Especially in people with already low but still normal blood pressure.

[mimi2012]

You guys are not alone indeed, I've had this "sleep paralysis" or "lifting above my body" or feeling like dying experience on and off during the past7 years, at first only every 2 years once, then all of the sudden twice in a week, then not at all for a year then twice again, and now recently it happened last month twice and this month also twice. Being an athlete myself I went immediately to the doctor to check for my neck.
Mostly I found out it is related to 3 things:
1. slight internal ear infection (resulting in balance loss either during the day or in sleep)
2. Muscle pain or contraction in the neck area all the way up into the skull (resulting in blood vessels being constraint, nerves sending ache information to the brain, loud sounds, popping sounds)
3. Too much work at the computer or another surface without breaks.

In my case it is both. The pressure of the nerves around the neck muscles that finish or hold the cervical bone (right under and inside the skull) is almost unbearable these days. There are very good physio-therapy stretching exercises your doctor can give you, especially the one in which you have to stand up, knees bent just a little, pull the stomach in, hips towards the front, head straight, chin towards the chest but keeping the head up (so chin "in") and stretching the head upwards as if someone was pulling it from above by a very straight string.
You should feel the muscles inside stretch and with them the pressure inside will be released. The nerves will relax a bit and the blood vessels will not be pressured and will be able to circulate freely.
The other exercise is lying flat on your back on the floor, feet-knees&back all having contact to the floor, hands next to the temple and lifting up  the shoulders and the neck from the floor (attention not only the neck, both with the shoulders in a straight supporting line) up and down 10 times, or 5, or 20, depending how many you can. For me 8 is maximum right now...(this exercise looks like the push ups only on your back)
In any case it is very important you do physical exercise which reinforces your neck muscles! the only way to get close to what happens in your brain besides "thought" is exercise: the eyes and the neck muscles have a pretty direct impact inside our skull. I hope this information helps.

When we hear the noise I heard it means that the blood can not circulate freely through the blood vessels. An aspirine (or nurofen) and the stretching exercises help me a lot. An xray of the spine in the neck area will give you a good idea of what is going on there.

Watch out for your position during the day, notice what is the activity you do most or what is the position that is most unnatural for the body, it might affect your neck muscles without you even knowing or hurting!

I wish you all good luck, did anyone hear about this as being called "astral traveling"? apparently there are some people who meditate especially to be able to reach this state out of which we want to get out...

[sgroclkc]

The cause of sleep paralysis is very simple. It is caused by a very terrible the reduced blood supply to the brain, common symptoms include very terrible dizziness, palpitations, tinnitus, visual impairment that can't see, and auditory impairment that can't hear,blurred vision,weakness, fatigue, nausea and headache. Less common symptoms include syncope, dyspnea, chest pain, and neck and shoulder pain. When symptoms occur they can vary greatly in expression from one individual to another.
(Refer to lEvaluation and Management of Orthostatic Hypotension).
Hypotension, anemia, improper sleeping position or poor blood flow in the neck caused by too high pillow are several common causes of the reduced blood supply to the brain during sleep at night. In particular, anyone with too high pillow during sleep is bound to have sleep paralysis repeatedly all night. This terrible the reduced blood supply to the brain is more likely to occur during waking up during the day than during sleep at night. For example, almost everyone suddenly stands up when their blood pressure is low in summer, and has experienced the terrible symptoms of the reduced blood supply to the brain caused by orthostatic hypotension.
Accordingly, the terrible dizziness during cerebral ischemia will lead to the illusion of seeing the terrible demon, the palpitation with too fast heartbeat will lead to the illusion of being attacked by the terrible demon, and tinnitus will lead to the illusion of hearing a certain sound. Because people's instinctive reaction is that your dare not move your body when your can't see the surrounding environment clearly after waking up, therefore, the visual obstacle that your eyes can't see will lead to the illusion of being unable to move your body or can't open your eyes.

[Klpayne13]

Nearly in tears because I have finally found something that proves I'm not crazy! Anyone who has come to this please read this page http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1768202/

I had my first episode of waking up from sleep only to nearly immediately pass out a little over a month ago. I had gotten up to check on my coughing child with no incident. Sometime soon after falling back to sleep I woke with a start and felt a slight nausea, I worried I might be ill and told my husband I thought I was going to be sick and got out of bed.  Luckily my husband had followed me into the bathroom and caught me before I hit the tile floor. When I came to he tried to help me back into our room on to the carpet and I lost consciousness again. Upon waking the second time I immediately started hyperventilating and panicking, I had been suffering from heart palpitations for months and was sure I was having a heart attack as I struggled to breath normally I was sweating profusely, the sweat dripping from my back onto the floor. My husband, a former emt, chose to drive me the five minutes to the ER himself since I was conscious and able to converse with him. Once there two ecg, blood pressure, blood lab, all "text book normal"...wtf!? Was all I could think. In the coming weeks I had several more ECGs, a cardio stress test, echocardiogram, Holter monitor, chest X-ray, and CT scan with contrast all showing me to be perfectly healthy; all the while I felt for sure I might die in my sleep at any point. My husband has also been so worried. But the month wore on and it didn't happen again, my doctors kept asking me about stress and my history of anxiety, I kept trying to explain to them this WAS NOT ANXIETY! But I began to worry maybe I was crazy, or maybe it was just a fluke, maybe I had had food poisoning or some kind of virus...then two night ago it happened again. This time I stayed in bed, lying down and didn't fully lose consciousness, but felt horrible like I would pass out if I lifted my head, my husband held me as I shook uncontrollably and cried, feeling as though I might throw up or have diarrhea. My arms were stiff and held up against my body with my hand in claws, this lasted for two minutes. He took my pulse and it was over 120 bpm. Another trip to the ER and as they checked me in the first thing they said after conforming my identity "you have a history of anxiety, correct?" Dammit I felt patronized! This was not an anxiety attack, I've had many in my life, lay down on the floor and hyperventilate, but never have I ever passed out from one, and surely not immediately after waking from sleep! The kind ER Dr suggested I may have pinched a nerve in my neck and suggested Valium and gentle stretches (word to the wise- Valium was horrible and left me feeling far worse than I had before).

I have spent the last two days searching the Internet for anything that sounds at all familiar to my symptoms, and I found this long standing thread. My heart hurts for all of you who have struggled with this intensely frightening experience. Here we all are, so desperate to find answers and to be taken seriously.
We are not alone! And I will say the research seems to show we aren't dying in our sleep. Thank goodness! But unfortunately not enough documented cases to be common knowledge for doctors. Please print the article and take to your dr. Maybe someday soon our condition of sleep syncope will be recognized and not blown off as panic attacks.

[marizabel]

Hello everyone!
It's been a long time but Ducky3 I 've got the same symptoms as you and the feeling like dying or fainting when in reclining position while sleeping deep and I was wondering if you;ve found out what it is. Do you still suffering from it? I hope it's ok now. I find this situation really stressful and hard and I hope the best for everyone.
Thanks Malisa

[marizabel]

Hello everyone!
It's been a long time but Ducky3 I 've got the same symptoms as you and the feeling like dying or fainting when in reclining position while sleeping deep and I was wondering if you;ve found out what it is. Do you still suffering from it? I hope it's ok now. I find this situation really stressful and hard and I hope the best for everyone.
Thanks Malisa

[Heiferly]

I was wondering if you might help us out by answering a one-question survey?  If you have a moment, go to the front page (hit the back to community button at the top of this page) and locate the poll about sleep topics. I would love to have your feedback. Thanks, H.

[Heiferly]

It may be worthwhile to consult a board certified sleep specialist and perhaps have a polysomnogram (sleep study) to explore these symptoms farther.

[cmhyummymummy]

Hi, I'm probably too late for this forum?
I saw your comments and all the others and couldn't believe it.
I have exactly the same symptoms! I have been not feeling right for about 4 years on and off (I am 40).
I have had episodes of fainting mainly in the evenings.
Last October 2014 I had my first night faint, had spasmodic pain in chest and got out of bed and blacked out and felt like I was dying as I saw all these bright rushing lights. So scary.I had an ambulance to the hospital. Following all the extensive tests on heart and other vitals, they found nothing.
Then last Thursday, I had the same again. This time without getting out of bed. I felt like I was going to die for sure, and felt like I had to scramble to get back. It was awful beyond comprehension. Like a black hole as you say, or worse. I also felt sick this time and I was very sick when the ambulance arrived. Again at hospital 2 days of tests and nothing!!

I am now being referred back to cardiology unit for more heart monitor tests as they don't know what to do with me.
My husband doesn't really understand what I'm talking about. The fear of dying or even feeling that sensation again is terrifying and I am scared to go to bed. I have two young children and I can't live like this.
Would rather have a disease that can be cured than this looming over me.

I hope you are improved by now?
Best wishes,

Cathy

[sgroclkc]

As Germany’s well-known psychologist William Wundt’s view of “ the most common causes of the dream are indigestion, heart pulsation(palpitations or flustered),difficulity in breathing, as well as such symptoms.” For instance, students dreaming the examination before the pre-examination, is caused by the things about examination. The sense of urgent urination would give rise to the dream of looking for the toilet. In a cold night, thin quilt would cause one to dream the clothes are socked by water and thus make him/her feel cold. When palpitations occurs, people will have two most common feelings: one is tachycardia cause a feeling of seeming to be chasing ; the other is bradycardia or premature beat cause the feeling of heart suspension or heart sinking. Therefore, people in sleep accordingly will have the two most common nightmares : one is dream of being chased (occasionally hunting other people) ; the other is dream of flying in the air or dream of falling down. Persons who palpitation is easy to occur are easy to have nightmare, drugs can cause  nightmare because drugs can cause palpitation. Females are easier to have nightmare than males, because palpitation is easier occur to females than to males. Women have a huge amount of nightmares during pregnancy because women experience more palpitations in pregnancy. Physical factors that contribute to bad dreams include fever as also sleep because fever causes an increase in the heart rate. If transient cerebral ischemia or fainting occuring during the day may result in some very terrible dizziness, palpitations, feelings of chest pressure, dim vision, tinnitus and a variety of neurological symptoms. As a result, all the people who are prone to cerebral ischemia or fainting frail corporeity, excessive fear, taking the quinidine which may lead to low blood pressure, as well as a excessive high pillow ors, error in sleeping style which may lead to the aggrieved neck, pressed blood stream. when they sleep in deep night, they will have the extraordinary corresponding horrible dreams, in the dreams, they do some kind of terrible Belial pressuring them or being hunted down, but they can not cry out or escape, which is known as sleep paralysis. .For a long time, due to the ignorance of physiological knowledge of syncope , ischemie cerebrale , slow beat, fast beat and so on, psychological illusion in people’s sleep generated by such physical symptoms i.e. the nightmare really has puzzled the psychologists, therefore they put forward a wide range of wrong even absurd views onthe nightmares, which both have no scientific basis, and could not be confirmed, even more were not self-consistent. For example, a medical expert Debacke drew the correct conclusion that the anxiety-dream resulted from ischemie cerebrale according to the physiological symptoms of the anxiety-dream of a boy of thirteen. Freud called such view was a ” medical mythology” in the book of Dream Psychology. Most important,the experiment confirmed the idea. For example, a place in country , there is a “haunted” bed which makes people have sleep paralysis or syncope every night, and it is this fact that the pillow in the bed is too high will reduce cerebral blood flow. Another example, sleeping pills are the treatment of nightmare of being chased of neurasthenia, due to the nightmare of being chased of such patients is caused by tachycardia, and sleeping pills can lead to slower heartbeat, moreover slower heartbeat sometimes leads to sleep paralysis or fainting for people of low blood pressure. Therefore, treating a nightmare with sleeping pills at times is not only invalid, but also it will instead increase the patient’s state of the disease.

[muthanna]

Hi all
I have the same sleep fainting thing but along with it the feeling of wanting to faint even when Im awake and also heart palpitations that lasts for weeks, please dose any one have that and if he dose, did he check out and what did he find if he did check.wish y all health

[jmarie988]

I'm a bit late for this forum but I have just started to experience this feeling too. The first time I did was a couple of weeks ago, I had fallen asleep and then i awoke to a feeling that I can only describe as "a pull of death" it started to overcome me and I felt that if I didn't shake out of it that I would die, it scared the crap out of me, it took all of my strength to come out of it. I was terrified! I was afraid to go back to sleep. I felt that maybe I was just in a deep sleep and was having a bad dream but when I checked my phone I had sent a text message only 7 minutes prior so there was no way I was on a deep sleep. I also had one just now while waking from a nap I tried to let it go on to see if I would be okay but I was overwhelmed by the feeling of death and didn't want to die, even sitting here wide awake right now I have fear that it will happen while I'm awake.

[Artorian]

Hi

I have the same problems i am affraid to fall asleep not knowing if i will wake in the morning because i keep having this feeling in bed im about to faint... My head also feels very heavy like im not relaxed and pushing it into the pillow.

I have a low blood pressure and i get dizzy during the day... well the problem is basically same category as everyone here is describing i have some of my own ideas to what i could improve to possibly make this better in my case but i havent tried it yet..

i think one of the reasons for all this could also be fatigue, and i eat the same food all the time and i am also very skinny although my blood was always really good on all blood tests and i am in medical therms "healthy"

-- drink more fluids especially water
-- go to bed early
-- some easy physical activity (a walk in the nature, a short jog)
-- eat more and smaller meals and different food (fruit and vegetables)

i think 4 of the above are the main things to run a healthy life and to solve most of people problems in general and alot more than any medicine.. i do not do any of the above which is quite funny considering i realize the faults and dont make it better but i really have to try and as soon as possible because i sleep only few hours a day.. i have to go to work in 3 hours and i havent slept yet

[sgroclkc]

Your sleep paralysis is caused by low blood pressure.

[sgroclkc]

Sleep paralysis physical symptoms are same as fainting (syncope) physical symptoms and so sleep paralysis is caused by fainting (syncope) .

[Evangeline101]

I too have this problem and have wondered about it for many years.  It does seem like the pre-cursor to an Out of Body Experience (Astral Projection) but having experienced many of those also, it isn't exactly the same.  

I'm on no medications at all and have this "fainting in my sleep" sometimes 3 times a week, perhaps 3 or 4 times, before I'm able to go to sleep - and then I may have no such nightly disturbance for a few weeks.  

Unlike the state of Sleep Paralysis (SP), it is not accompanied by a rushing noise or the usual feeling of being paralyzed, just a definite sensation complete memory loss and of being pulled somewhere in your mind and having to yank yourself back before you die. I always pull myself back with a massive intake of breathe, it is as if I have stopped breathing for some time and have to completely re-fill my lungs and sometimes feel as though my brain has suffered a mild shock, almost.  

I too have been to a sleep disorder specialist regarding SP but he insisted it could only occur in the rapid eye movement cycle of sleep, which takes around 20 minutes to reach, but I know it happens when I haven't yet fallen asleep and can be simply very relaxed in the supine (on my back) position and even just daydreaming with my eyes closed.  This makes me wonder if they really know anything at all about SP.

There is a certain link to SP episodes and laying in the supine position but these jolting sleep-fainting episodes are experienced in any position.  With SP, if I'm not conscious enough to realise that I'm about to have an OBE, I'm able to release the paralysis and stop the rushing sensations and noises by wiggling my little finger or shaking my head, the latter being more difficult to achieve.  With these episodes of sleep-fainting, there is no warning and the only way to stop it is to sit up and calm yourself down from a frenzy.

I hope this helps someone experiencing this frightening condition and good luck to all.  I doubt very much if it's related to Sudden Adult Death Syndrome because they would surely have linked it by now to previous victims complaining of SP or blacking out as they are just about to fall asleep, so I think we can relax slightly regarding dying as otherwise normal healthy people in our sleep.  No that that would be a bad way to go I suppose, but still.  <3

[chocolatina]

OMG I have been noticing the same symptoms> Last night I had an episode and my heart was pumping really hard afterwards as if to revive me.  Really weird stuff. It ususally happens to me when I am falling asleep.  I also have a lot of tingling senastions all over body. I dont know if its circulation. I have never been to the Dr for it, but is pretty scary.  Now I am wondering if this is what happens when people die in their sleep. If they have one of this episodes and dont come back from it.  Scary stuff> I think I am going to look for a Neurologist.

[jesslh]

I had this happen to me for the first time last night. I woke up during the night and 10 or so minutes later as i tried to fall back asleep, i felt as though i was fainting but also paralyzed. I've fainted before and this felt exactly like that although i didnt actually black-out last night. The feeling went away after a few minutes but it scared me because id never had anything like that happen before. There have been a few times when ive woken up during the night and not been able to move a limb etc and during this, i havnt been able to call out to anybody. I've put that down to sleep paralysis, so im assuming this is related?

[Suzie_Q_2]

I am very glad to have found this thread. I, like the rest of you, have these horrible sleep episodes that feel like I am slipping away! The first time it happened was about ten years ago when I  fell asleep on my sister's couch watching tv, and its happened about 5 more times over the last 10 yrs. This feeling of dread wakes me up. Then my feet and legs start to feel a strange tingling sensation as if they were asleep and are waking back up. Then the worst part comes. My heart will beat very heavily. I have fhe sensation that it stopped and is working hard to bring me back to life. It only lasts about a minute. But it's super scary! I had my sister take me to the ER that first time and the Doc chalked it up to stress. I know its more than that though. I was searching the net this week and found some interesting terms. Vasovagal episodes, sleep syncope, sleep apnea. All of which sound extremely similar to what im experiencing. But rhe universal theme is that its hard to diagnose,  and doctors tend to blow you off when you tell them about it. So what to do? Im up right now because I had another episode just as I was drifting off to sleep and i could feel it coming on so I sat up in bed as that will stop it if im not fully asleep when it comes over me.  Just got tested for a whole host of things, such as thyroid, electrolytes, magnesium deficiency, and anemia. I am anemic, but am on iron now and it still happened again tonight. Still waiting for the rest of the blood test results. Have any of you gotten any real answers from a doctor yet? Anyone been able to stop theirs? Please  share your tips and tricks if so!
God Bless to all of you!!!

[Halloweenbaby1946]

Amazing~

I cannot believe I've accidentally run across this thread. I relate to almost everything in most of the posts and I'm nearly speechless.

About 11 years ago I noticed some sleep issues and also some issues with severe acid reflux. Through the years the symptoms would wax and wane with treatment - once seeming to affect the other

As my GERD (severe acid reflux) problems got worse so did my sleep issues but I did not recognize that fact.

After years of being on acid reflux medications and it only getting worse, I finally had a sleep apnea study done and was found to have positional sleep apnea. And that's when I notice the worst of my swirling down episodes - when I'm flat on my back.

I recently had to have surgery to attach my stomach to my lower esophagus due to GERD and I thought the "swirling, whirling, fainting, slipping away, dying" feeling would stop but it has not. In many ways it's worse.

For some time I could not fall asleep - a good year or so. My doc finally gave me Trazodone to help me fall asleep and stay asleep. It does what it's supposed to do but it doesn't do much to help me to stay asleep or go back to sleep when I awaken very early and begin my daily slipping into the pit of blackness.

I have tried very hard to describe this horrible feeling to my husband (he and I both wear CPAP) and I think he understands it for the most part since he went bonkers about 5 years ago when he too became oxygen deficient.

These episodes during sleep for me always seem to be early in the morning but they have occurred at night and they wake me up. I'm always afraid, rapid heart beat, sometimes dizzy and always wonder what in the world is happening to me.

I'm always still very sleepy when these events occur and want to go to sleep again but I have to sit up or I feel as if I'm going to die on the spot. I have to breathe from my mouth if I don't get up right away and I have or get a headache soon after getting up

The sad thing now is that my early morning fright festival colors my day so much that I only settle down about noon or so and then the afternoon goes so quickly that I've grown afraid of the evening and the night because I know what's coming.

I have a wonderful life. A loving husband, everything I need, good friends, faith in God and everything in retired life to look forward to but I cannot sleep well due to sleep apnea and the feeling of impending doom that comes with my fear of getting sucked into a black hole and not being able to breathe when I do.

Hubby and I have a theory at least for me that it has something to do with my position while lying in bed and when my oxygen becomes low. It also NEVER happens when I sleep all night sitting up in my recliner. Never.

We have an adjustable bed and tonight I'm going to try my CPAP with my bed elevated nearly as high as it can go at the head.

I am WORN OUT. Exhausted and tired and ready to move on to other things. I'm waiting on the results of a 24 hour pulse ox test right now and hope to learn something more from this. I've had three sleep studies all of which indicate positional sleep apnea but I have such problems with the CPAP machine.

I hope to hear back from some of you.
It's good to know I'm not alone but that fact won't stop the terrors.

Thanks.

[psmithy]

I have had some on the sensations you describe when I have fainted in the past - mostly followed by vomiting. These "faints" have occurred in sleep too. After extensive tests for heart block, it was shown I had low blood pressure, a good thing for old age. Food poisoning was also involved and blood had rushed to the stomach.
Last night, however, I had a slightly different experience. I was thinking of a film I'd seen and possibly drifting off to sleep when I woke with a start unable to remember my last memory and completely panicked by that. So I told myself not to worry or try to remember at the same time I felt a little sick and thought the room needed more air (could smell a whiff of chemical or whatever from the airconditioning). I also thought "that's the second time that's happened recently, goodness my brain cells are really dying/alzeimers"...and then it clicked. Maybe I had fainted for a fraction of time. I know I have sleep apnea although I am slim and do not smoke and exercise regularly and sing. But I didn't feel I had been asleep. It was just like a memory loss that panicked me because there was a gap - when I've fainted there's the fast flashes/hallucinations/noise rush and I think I'd had that but for seconds only, then there's the slow coming to consciousness.
Scary stuff. Must check out what pin strokes are.

[mimi2012]

PS. Whatever you decide to do, I am definitely not a doctor, please take my comments with a grain of salt and question mark your self if it is the right thing for you... thank you.

[female25719]

After the last couple of years I have some strange experiences whilst in bed at night. After soon going to bed but not to sleep I have a sudden feelings that my brain has been unplugged, it then feels like in the next few seconds before I black out completely, in which time I experience the following. I have no idea how long this all takes because I am in bed, I get regular 10-11 hours’ sleep at night and remember everything  when I wake from this experience but not in a panic and usually go back to sleep afterwards. And wake up fine in the morning.
-slowing of breath
-heaviness of body
-stiffness of body
-clenching of hands and arms
-feeling of dying
-flashes of images going hundred miles an hour
-can’t speak, even though my mind is sound
-hallucinations
-painful high pitched sound in brain
-voices that are my own telling me to get up
-awareness of what’s around me
-Rapid eye movements
-Then black-out
There is epilepsy in the family but I only ever have these symptoms at night. After looking on the internet I can recognise some but not all of these symptoms in Sleep apnea of Rapid eye movements (REM) but there seems to be no medical info on sleep fainting of fits.  They are becoming more frequent now at 25 and female but thinking back I’ve always had them but put them down to dreaming. Maybe I am dreaming?

[shevidoo]

I Googled fainting in my sleep cause I know from past experiences that the docs are never really right about whats wrong. I have had this problem for anout 3 months now. I have been battling cancer for a year and that was enough stress to know I could die from it but now this? I get the same symptoms. I'll fall asleep but then bout a hour later I wake up trying to breathe. I feel like i'm bout to faint or that i'm lacking oxygen. I also feel as though i'm going to die in my sleep and that terrifies me enough to where i dont want to go back to seep. I start to panic. I really hope the docs can diagnose all of us soon case it's not just one of us but alot of people with the same symptoms. I take Lunesta from time to time to sleep cause I have Insomnia but this feeling is just too powerful. I'm scared to tell anyone cause I feel like they are gonna think i'm going crazy. I am gonna go get checked out by a doctor and I will metion that I found several other people with this problem. There has to be an explantion to all this. I'm glad we are not alone. Best health to you and I hope you all get better.

[Ducky3]

I've been having these episodes for about a month. I don't experience paralysis, just near-fainting.  It has always happened after I've been asleep for a couple of hours, then gotten up and laid back down.  Within 30 seconds or so of reclining, I start to feel I'm being sucked into a vortex and have trouble breathing.  I sit up to get control, and have to control my breath until it gets better.  It feels like I might die.  (However, as you'll see below, there isn't any fear or panic.  I was extremely sick as a young child and don't have what is generally considered a normal fear of dying.)

Usually, it has taken 5-20 minutes to get over the worst part, but hours to be able to recline again.  One night, it just wouldn't let up, so I went to the ER.  They weren't very helpful, and suggested panic attacks, which is a psychological disorder, and not what is going on here.  My internist thinks it's probably a side effect of some other meds, which I'm getting off of.  My mother had the same thing, once, and began taking electrolytes, which stopped it.  So far, that hasn't helped me.  It's got something to do with the reclining position and ..what, blood pressure?  It's not a "panic attack" because I don't experience fear, mostly annoyance and anger that my routine is being interrupted.  I think docs throw that label out when they don't know what else to call something.  However, fear is a part of the definition of a panic attack.   The Mayo clinic website says that the fear triggers the other symptoms, not the other way around.  In my case, it's reclining that triggers them.  Don't let people tell you it's a panic attack, if that isn't your experience!  The ER doc also said that, if it isn't a panic attack, a cardiologist would have a hard time diagnosing it, as unexplained fainting is very hard to figure out. In the meantime, I'll just keep having to get it under control when it happens. Good luck, everyone!