Giddiness
Your brain depends on a continuous flow of oxygen-rich blood to function. This supply comes from your heart—a powerful pump that adjusts moment by moment to keep up with your body’s needs. When something goes wrong with your heart’s rhythm or pumping ability, the blood flow can suddenly drop. The result? You feel lightheaded, dizzy, or may even faint.
Dizziness and headaches can be symptoms of high blood pressure, vascular issues, or circulation problems
Why Am I Dizzy or Fainting? When It’s More Than Just Fatigue—It Could Be Your Heart
It starts with a simple moment—a wave of dizziness as you stand up, or the lights going dim just before you collapse. Most people brush it off as fatigue, dehydration, or skipping a meal. But when these episodes keep happening, dizziness and fainting (medically known as syncope) could be more than just fleeting discomfort—they may be your heart trying to tell you something.
How the Heart Keeps You Upright: The Brain-Heart Connection
Your brain depends on a continuous flow of oxygen-rich blood to function. This supply comes from your heart—a powerful pump that adjusts moment by moment to keep up with your body’s needs. When something goes wrong with your heart’s rhythm or pumping ability, the blood flow can suddenly drop. The result? You feel lightheaded, dizzy, or may even faint.
This form of fainting is called cardiac syncope, and unlike other causes, it can be dangerous—especially if left untreated.
Cardiac Conditions That Can Trigger Dizziness or Fainting
If you’ve been feeling faint or off-balance, your symptoms could be linked to one of several heart-related conditions:
- Aortic Stenosis: A narrowing of the aortic valve limits blood flow from the heart to the body, especially during activity. This can cause lightheadedness or blackouts.
- Atrial Fibrillation (AFib): This irregular rhythm in the upper chambers of the heart reduces effective blood pumping and can make you feel dizzy or breathless.
- Heart Failure: When the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s demands, fainting and fatigue may occur, especially during physical exertion.
- Cardiac Arrhythmias: Abnormal heart rhythms, whether too fast or too slow, can reduce blood flow to the brain and trigger syncope.
- Mitral Valve Prolapse: If the mitral valve doesn’t close properly, blood can leak backward into the heart, leading to reduced circulation and potential fainting spells.
Getting the Right Diagnosis: Tests That Reveal the Cause
When patients come to me with unexplained dizziness or fainting, the first step is to listen carefully—your symptoms often tell a story. From there, we use a range of modern cardiac tests to uncover the root cause:
- Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG): Checks your heart’s rhythm and electrical activity.
- Echocardiogram: Uses ultrasound waves to visualize heart structures and detect valve or muscle issues.
- Holter Monitor: Worn for 24–48 hours to catch fleeting arrhythmias that don’t show up during a brief ECG.
- Tilt Table Test: Helps diagnose positional fainting (orthostatic intolerance) by monitoring blood pressure and heart rate as you change posture.
- Cardiac MRI: Offers detailed imaging to assess structural heart disease and scarring.
How We Treat Cardiac-Related Dizziness and Syncope
The treatment plan depends entirely on what we find. The goal is not just to stop your symptoms—but to address the heart issue behind them. Depending on the diagnosis, your options may include:
- Medications: For example, beta-blockers or antiarrhythmic drugs can help regulate heartbeat in conditions like atrial fibrillation or other arrhythmias.
- Cardiac Procedures or Surgery: Valve replacement may be needed for aortic stenosis, while pacemaker implantation could be the answer for bradycardia (slow heart rate).
- Lifestyle Modifications: From salt intake to hydration, regular exercise, and managing underlying conditions like high blood pressure—small changes can make a big difference.