• Centers and Departments
• Back to Diseases and Conditions
• Arrhythmias
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Bradycardia or Low Heart Rate
• Brugada Syndrome
• Long QT Syndrome
• Palpitations
• Sudden Death or Cardiac Arrest
• Syncope or Fainting
  • Signs and Symptoms
  • Risk Factors
  • Causes
  • Diagnosis
  • Treatments
  • Physicians and Services
• Tachycardia or Fast Heart Rate
• Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome

Treatments

Treatment seeks to prevent a syncope recurrence. Depending on the results of your tests and the underlying cause of your syncope, your treatment may include:

• Taking new medications, such as those for high blood pressure, or making changes to your current medications if they are found to be contributing to your syncope.
  
• Wearing support stockings to improve circulation.
  
• Making dietary changes such as eating meals more often, but in smaller portions; increasing salt, fluid and potassium intake; and staying away from caffeine and alcohol.
  
• Being careful when shifting from sitting to standing.
  
• Elevating the head of your bed while sleeping.
  
• Trying to avoid triggers that may cause a fainting episode.
  
• Artificial pacemaker:
  
  • This device may be either temporarily or permanently implanted under the skin in the chest wall. It is the most common treatment for arrhythmias that cause symptoms such as fainting.
    
  • The wallet-sized, battery-powered device has wires and electrodes attached. The electrodes are threaded through your veins and into your heart, while the pacemaker itself is implanted under your collarbone.
    
  • The pacemaker provides electrical impulses through the electrodes to regulate your heartbeat. In some cases, a dual-chamber pacemaker may be implanted. It has electrodes in both the atria and the ventricles. A traditional pacemaker only has electrodes in the ventricles.
    
  • When your heart rate slows, the pacemaker takes over, providing the impulses required to maintain a normal rhythm. Blood thinners may be prescribed along with the pacemaker, at least initially.
    
  • To watch a video about the implant procedure for a pacemaker, click here.