| '''Syncope''' is the [[medicine|medical]] term for '''fainting''' or '''blacking out'''. It is a sudden loss of [[consciousness]], usually for a short time. It is mostly because there is not enough [[oxygen]] in the [[brain]]. It can be for other reasons. | | '''Syncope''' is the [[medicine|medical]] term for '''fainting''' or '''blacking out'''. It is a sudden loss of [[consciousness]], usually for a short time. It is mostly because there is not enough [[oxygen]] in the [[brain]]. It can be for other reasons. |
− | Fainting is quite common. It usually happens in two age ranges: the teenage years, and during older age. The chance of a person fainting at least once in a lifetime is about 40 to 50 percent. Syncope causes 1 to 3 percent of all attendances to emergency departments and 1 to 6 percent of all hospital admissions.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ruwald M.H. ''et al'' 2012. The relation between age, sex, comorbidity, and pharmacotherapy and the risk of syncope: a Danish nationwide study |journal=Europace |volume=14 |issue=10 |pages=1506–14 |pmid=22588456 |doi=10.1093/europace/eus154}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Sun B.C; Emond J.A. & Camargo C.A. 2004. Characteristics and admission patterns of patients presenting with syncope to U.S. emergency departments, 1992-2000 |journal=Acad Emerg Med |volume=11 |issue=10 |pages=1029–34 |pmid=15466144 |doi=10.1197/j.aem.2004.05.032}}.</ref> | + | Fainting is quite common. It usually happens in two age ranges: the teenage years, and during older age. The chance of a person fainting at least once in a lifetime is about 40 to 50 percent. Syncope causes 1 to 3 percent of all attendances to emergency departments and 1 to 6 percent of all hospital admissions.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ruwald M.H. ''et al'' 2012. The relation between age, sex, comorbidity, and pharmacotherapy and the risk of syncope: a Danish nationwide study |title=The relation between age, sex, comorbidity, and pharmacotherapy and the risk of syncope: A Danish nationwide study |journal=Europace |year=2012 |volume=14 |issue=10 |pages=1506–14 |pmid=22588456 |doi=10.1093/europace/eus154}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Sun B.C; Emond J.A. & Camargo C.A. 2004. Characteristics and admission patterns of patients presenting with syncope to U.S. emergency departments, 1992-2000 |title=Characteristics and Admission Patterns of Patients Presenting with Syncope to U.S. Emergency Departments, 1992-2000 |journal=Acad Emerg Med |year=2004 |volume=11 |issue=10 |pages=1029–34 |pmid=15466144 |doi=10.1197/j.aem.2004.05.032}}.</ref> |