Syncope, also known as a fall, is an important clinical issue that may be the signal for a serious health problem. Despite the fact that falls occur quite frequently in a number of people, the nature of the problem is quite hard to nail down and requires thorough research. More to the point, considering a fall a symptom of a specific disease is hardly possible, seeing how a fall can be caused by a range of factors. Despite the fact that falls are extremely frequent, the range of health issues that they can be a symptom of is truly impressive, which means that the nature of falls must be studied closer.
Unlike many medical issues, whose causes are very hard to nail down based on the symptoms, the phenomenon in question has a rather distinct definition: “Syncope is a sudden, transient loss of consciousness associated with an inability to maintain postural tone” (Molzen, Suter & Whitson, 2001, p. 1). More to the point, a very thick line is drawn between syncope and such phenomena as “seizure, coma, vertigo, hypoglycemia, and other states of altered consciousness” (Molzen, Suter & Whitson, 2001, p. 1). According to the latest research, a specific evaluation of the phenomenon must be conducted so that the cause should be defined and the source of the problem could be located (Strickberger et al., 2006).
Syncope may signify a loss of the blood supply, lack of oxygen or the absence of glucose. Such a problem as a head injury received previously and not properly tended to can be considered the factors triggering the aforementioned effects (Strickberger et al., 2006), yet the entire palette of factors that may have led to the blood, glucose, or oxygen deprivation is truly ample.
Reference List
Houser, J. (2014). Nursing research: Reading, using and creating evidence (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
Molzen, G. W., Suter, R. E. & Whitson, R. W. (2001). Clinical policy: Critical issues in the evaluation and management of patients presenting with syncope. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 37(6), 771–776.
Strickberger, A., Benson, D., Biaggioni, I., Callans, D. J., Cohen, M. I., Ellebogen, K. A., … & Sila, C. A. (2006). AHA/ACCF scientific statement on the evaluation of syncope. Circulation, 113(2), 316–327.