Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
Can A Syncope Cause Irregular Heartbeat?
Question: I am a healthy, athletic woman, age 66, who never had any heart disease problems. I was still doing difficult climbing in my late 50s. I do have relatively low blood pressure 107/68, and it can drop from sitting to standing to 99/60. i was in a cafe last week, and after finishing a large coffee and standing up abruptly, I had a syncope, the first time in my life. I was taken to emergency, and luckily I had only bruised ribs. They took an EKG, and the doctor didn't mention anything particular. This happened on a Thursday and I saw my doctor the following Monday. He took an EKG, which showed the drop in the systolic beat and then a sharp rise in the diastolic beat. The pattern was regular. My doctor also made me a wear a monitor for 24 hours, and told me that I had pauses in my heart beat, without giving me a diagnosis. He referred me to a cardiologist whom I am going to see on Monday. He also mentioned that I may need a pace maker, which really scared me, since I never had any heart disease symptoms in my life. My mother was a cardiologist and when I was a teenager mentioned that I had a slight non-significant heart murmur. Could pauses in the heartbeat with no other symptoms require a pacemaker?
Brief Answer:
it depends on the type of block
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
The syncope was a symptom of the pause in heart beat. A pause in the heart beat means that there is a temporary disruption in blood supply to the organs including the brain.
It is the decrease in blood flow to the brain that would cause syncope.
There are different types of pauses or blocks in heart beats that can occur. The need for a pacemaker would be based on the type of block seen on the ECG and holter monitor and also the duration of the pause/block.
Some of the indications include the placement of a pacemaker in persons who have no symptoms but is based on the type of block eg an type 2 second degree av block , just to give an example
This is a block that occurs when the electrical impulse from the upper chamber/part of the heart, the atria, is not passed along the 'pathway' /fibers properly to the lower part of the heart.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
it depends on the type of block
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
The syncope was a symptom of the pause in heart beat. A pause in the heart beat means that there is a temporary disruption in blood supply to the organs including the brain.
It is the decrease in blood flow to the brain that would cause syncope.
There are different types of pauses or blocks in heart beats that can occur. The need for a pacemaker would be based on the type of block seen on the ECG and holter monitor and also the duration of the pause/block.
Some of the indications include the placement of a pacemaker in persons who have no symptoms but is based on the type of block eg an type 2 second degree av block , just to give an example
This is a block that occurs when the electrical impulse from the upper chamber/part of the heart, the atria, is not passed along the 'pathway' /fibers properly to the lower part of the heart.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
you don't think that it was a drop in my blood pressure that caused the syncope? I have never experienced one before.
Brief Answer:
possible but would need to determine cause of drop
Detailed Answer:
HI
A drop in blood pressure , postural hypotension, can cause syncope but this also needs assessment.
Postural hypotension can be due to minor causes like dehydration but in some persons it can be due to more serious causes. This may not be the case for you but it needs assessment by your cardiologist.
An ECG would look at the rate , rhythm of the heart and can also identify if there are areas with enlargement or possibly decreased blood supply
It would not measure the blood pressure.
It is possible that the pause/block may not warrant a pace maker after you are seen by the cardiologist, this happens in a number of persons, but it is best to make sure.
possible but would need to determine cause of drop
Detailed Answer:
HI
A drop in blood pressure , postural hypotension, can cause syncope but this also needs assessment.
Postural hypotension can be due to minor causes like dehydration but in some persons it can be due to more serious causes. This may not be the case for you but it needs assessment by your cardiologist.
An ECG would look at the rate , rhythm of the heart and can also identify if there are areas with enlargement or possibly decreased blood supply
It would not measure the blood pressure.
It is possible that the pause/block may not warrant a pace maker after you are seen by the cardiologist, this happens in a number of persons, but it is best to make sure.
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
