Why do I faint when I turn my head?
Dear DrRich:
I am a 46 year old with a history of cervical spondylosis, C5-6 herniation, and bulging at C4-5: C6-7. When my neck gets fired up I sometimes experience brief syncope if I turn my head, especially toward the left. My doctor has never heard of this. Is this some kind of neurological problem, or vascular problem, or am I just crazy?
Sincerely,
Afraid to Shave
DrRich replies:
Dear A to S,
The
only thing I can be sure of is that your syncope is NOT caused by
"craziness." Syncope
that occurs when you turn your head is almost always caused by a vascular
problem - the movement causes a blood vessel supplying the brain to become
impinged on something (such as a bulging disc); blood flow to the brain is shut
off momentarily, and syncope occurs.
Another
possibility is that sudden pain may be causing vasovagal syncope (see the link
below), but I wouldn't put any money on this.
It
sounds a lot more like you may have vascular occlusion causing black out spells,
and this is potentially a serious problem.
I urge you to go back to your doctor and specifically suggest vascular
occlusion (have him/her look up "subclavian steal syndrome" if he/she
seems perplexed by the notion.) If you get brushed off again, go to
another doctor.
For your reference, here is series of articles I recently posted on syncope, its evaluation and treatment:
http://heartdisease.about.com/health/heartdisease/library/blsyncope.htm
Best of luck,
DrRich
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