vasovagal syncope

[DeMark]

My daughter fainted when she was 3 siting in a shopping cart, after the emergency room and cat scan of the brain and sleep was done, the neurologist told us it more then likely was a moment seziure, well she had another fainting spell last December when she was real sick with the flu she fainted in the bathroom, took her to the emergency room and they just checked her out.  Last Tuesday she fainted in the bathroom while standing and putting in her ear rings. She is now 7 years old and we were told that she has  (vasovagal syncope) my pedatrician did not do any other test on her and said that we should increase her salt intake and make sure she gets exercise regulary.  I'm not happy with this and have contacted my Chiropractor and another well known group that treats children,  I guess my question is the vegas nerve that runs down the neck and all over the body that works with the parasymethethic and sympathethic nerves of the body that control the autonomic nerves, if pressure is placed on the vegas nerve can cause similar fainting spells in children as (vasovagal syncope) I was told that Chiropractic care can help with this vegas nerve and how it can cause fainting in children.  I really don't want to give drugs to my child if I can find another route to help with the fainting spells.  3 spells in 4 years is that bad or normal for  vasovagal syncope.

I'm really scared that my child will have the rest of her life, do they grow out of this?    

[Molly38]

A related discussion, Near-syncope was started.

[TT111]

A related discussion, vaso vegal synscope was started.

[stevie_wonder]

Has your daughter had an ECG done? If not, I would suggest she does. What seems to sometimes be an innocent faint can actually be a heart arrythmia. There are several different arrhythmia disorders that can affect young children. I started fainting as a young child and out grew them but my 20 year old son had a cardiac arrest at the age of 18. Luckily he was revived by paramedics and our family was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome. We are all on treatment now and have no more fainting. This is probably not the case with your daughter, but wouldn't hurt checking it out.
Good luck with her

[billy73]

thoughts on this???

i am 34yo and have a history of anxiety, panic attacks, and OCD.  (yea, i know, real fun).  i do manual procedures at work from time to time that i have done for years.  they can be semi-dangerous if not done correctly.  this one time, i got very light-headed and nearly went down.  then, for a period of time after that i was a little gun-shy.  not sure why i felt that way.  maybe an isolated episode of low blood sugar or something.

months later, i am now terrified that i will go down during this particular procedure.  i am afraid to "climb back on that horse" because i get very anxious now even when seeing it done by someone else.  when doing it myself, i feel light-headed, warm, and my heart races.  it scares me.  i barely make it through it seems.

it only happens during this time.  i exercise all the time and i can run miles in hot weather with little food/water and feel fine.

do you think i could actually develop a vaso-vagal response?  or, am i just feeling light-headed because of anxiety / mild panic attack symptoms from my mind creating all sorts of scenerios?  just thinking about all of this makes me anxious.

i wonder if i just need more exposure to my fear and over time i will get pass this.

thoughts?  help!  ;-)

[Philipa1]

I am the mother of a 20y.o. who first fainted at the age of 3. By the time she was 12 she was frequently experiencing pre-syncope i.e. dizziness, fatigue and would faint in choir, after running races, after injections and was generally quite seriously affected.

We were told by more than one doctor that it was nothing to worry about - in fact a paediatrician told us she was lazy!!! By 14 she was not able to walk to our local shops without  feeling faint, dizzy etc. and school became almost an impossibility.

We changed paediatricians who promptly referred her to a paediatric electro physiologist cardiologist with an interest in syncope. He took the matter very seriously with a thorough cardiac "workup" including echo cardiogram, 24hr holter monitor and ECG but was always reluctant to perform a tilt table test. He diagnosed neurocardiogenic syncope ( also known as vasovagal syncope) and trialled numerous medications - non of which worked and she continued to have multiple episodes on a daily basis and eventually ended up almost completely house bound and wheelchair dependent.
At age 17 she was referred to an adult cardiologist (electro physiologist) who promptly performed a tilt table test. He trialled more medications...non of which were successful. Within three months he recommended a cardiac pacemaker which was state of the art..it detects the adrenaline rush that precedes  the heart's  inappropriate reaction that causes the fainting. i.e. In my daughter's case a significant drop in her heart rate and blood pressure. Whilst she is not 100% symptom free she really has a new lease of life and does not lose consciousness now.

I wish I had known what I do now when my girl was younger...follow up with a paediatric electro physiologist cardiologist was the best thing we could have done. So I would strongly encourage you to do the same. He too recommended the increase in salt and fluid intake and was open to all kinds of suggestions. We had to travel over 100 kms to get to  him but it was worth the effort.

I hope this helps. Best wishes to you and your family.

[DeMark]

Today we saw the x-rays of our daughter and found that she has issues with the cervical area and it involves the ATLAS, thew Atlas involves the vegas nerve the goes to the heart,  she has a great deal of curve loss as well.  I also have spoken back to the Pediatrician and she said that what our daughter has is Vasovagal syncope but it's Cincapee and benine, she said no other teat would be neccessary.  I'm not too happy with that answer so we are going to let the Chiroractor work on the cervical and the Atlas to get it positioned correctly and the left side of her body that is down quite a bite from the right.  I have contacted one of the best known Chiropractic groups that work with childeren out of Vermont ( The Baby Adjusters ) and Dr. Jennifer Pete, she wants to see all of the records and x-rays and will work with our local Chiropractor.  I have also read on the internet that some people have used this to help the spells and have not had any after Chiropractic.  I'll keep postings to inform if this helps and works for our daughter.  Thank you for the response and the help    

[Cleveland Clinic]

As an adult cardiologist, I am usually not exposed to vasovagal syncope in children and I would suggest that you contact the pediatric cardiologist.  For adult patients, three spells in four years he is not that unusual an amount.  It sounds like the diagnosis has not been firmly established in your case: In adults we usually perform what is known as a tilt table test but having run this procedure several times I am not sure this 7-year-old child will be able to cooperate with the procedure.  The importance of this test is in  that it not only helps us make the diagnosis, but  that often uncovers the mechanism for the syncope: Is vasodilatory issue is it a chronotropic issue or is there a volume issue as well. I am not aware of any literature supporting the use of chiropractic medicine and vasovagal syncope.

[416340]

I am a 24 year old female who has been a fainter all of my life.  Everytime my parents would take me to the doctor they would dismiss my fainting episodes and send me home saying that fainting is benign and a natural reaction.  For me, the episodes would typically occur once a year or once every two years. Over the past two years, my episodes have become much more frequent (multiple times a week).  As you can imagine, I was very concerned and my family doctor decided to refer me to a cardiologist.  He did a tilt table test and confirmed that i had vasovagal syncope.  He suggested that I increase my salt intake and water intake.  He also said that when i do faint, to have someone elevate my legs, so that the blood can get to the heart faster.  One thing he did also note was that if a person has an episode, the chance of them having another episode within the same day is higher.

During my appointment with my cardiologist, he also found that i have an arrhythmia which is also a likely cause for some of my fainting.  He says it’s hard to tell which fainting episodes were because of which condition (vasovagal syncope or arrhythmia).  Has her doctor done an ECG and other tests to rule out other possible causes of fainting?  

Since both diagnosis’s, I have increased my salt and water intake (for vasovagal syncope) and taking medication (beta blockers) for my arrhythmia and so far it’s been working. I hope that increasing your daughter’s salt and water intake will help eliminate her fainting episodes.   At least I have an excuse to go to fast food restaurants now and not feel too guilty :)

Best of luck to your daughter and your family!