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What Causes Fainting During Urination?
Question: My new husband recently told me that he used to have cases where his heart would start racing while he was urinating. He's even passed out from it already, but it has been a few years since the last episode. My husband is African-American and 62 years old. Any ideas what would cause this?
Brief Answer:
Syncope due to vasovagal tone
Detailed Answer:
Hi and welcome to HCM. Thank you for your question. I understand your concern.
Well, it is a well-known syndrome, called micturition syncope, which means sudden loss of concience while urinating. Although uncommon, it is a syndrome found in all ages, mostly in ages above 50 years old. It is caused by a sudden drop of blood pressure, while discharging fluids from the organism, and some organisms cannot balance the fluid distribuition so quickly. In this case, there is nothing to be worried about. Cautions that should be undertaken are that these people should urinate while sitting, not standing, and they should not force the urine out, but just let the flow go.
However, since your husband is 62 years of age (age above 45 years old in male population), he is in risk for other cardiovascular disorder. Therefore, I would recommend him a cardiac check-up, consisting on:
- an EKG, to assess the electrical activity of the heart in resting state
- an echo cardiogram, to evaluate the heart structures, such as valves and heart muscle, by means of motility and function
- a cardiac stress test, which assesses the heart electrical activity while exerting
- since we are dealing with an episode of syncope, whichever the cause, a 24-hour rhythm monitor is recommended, which is basically an EKG spun throughout a day.
I hope I was helpful with my answer. I would be happy to help, if you have follow-up questions.
Best regards,
Dr. Meriton
Syncope due to vasovagal tone
Detailed Answer:
Hi and welcome to HCM. Thank you for your question. I understand your concern.
Well, it is a well-known syndrome, called micturition syncope, which means sudden loss of concience while urinating. Although uncommon, it is a syndrome found in all ages, mostly in ages above 50 years old. It is caused by a sudden drop of blood pressure, while discharging fluids from the organism, and some organisms cannot balance the fluid distribuition so quickly. In this case, there is nothing to be worried about. Cautions that should be undertaken are that these people should urinate while sitting, not standing, and they should not force the urine out, but just let the flow go.
However, since your husband is 62 years of age (age above 45 years old in male population), he is in risk for other cardiovascular disorder. Therefore, I would recommend him a cardiac check-up, consisting on:
- an EKG, to assess the electrical activity of the heart in resting state
- an echo cardiogram, to evaluate the heart structures, such as valves and heart muscle, by means of motility and function
- a cardiac stress test, which assesses the heart electrical activity while exerting
- since we are dealing with an episode of syncope, whichever the cause, a 24-hour rhythm monitor is recommended, which is basically an EKG spun throughout a day.
I hope I was helpful with my answer. I would be happy to help, if you have follow-up questions.
Best regards,
Dr. Meriton
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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