In a previous post, we talked about some of the specific guidelines you need to follow when treating patients who have fainted. Also known as syncope, fainting is a common occurrence and as a medical flight paramedic, you may encounter a few patients in this situation. In this post, you’ll get more details about the guidelines released by the American College of Cardiology so you can get a thorough understanding of what to do.
More tips on handling medical flight patients with syncope
The previous post talked about the initial steps you need to take when you encounter a patient who has fainted. And those steps can be used by medical flight paramedics. According to the American College of Cardiology, health care professionals can follow the guidelines below when they have to treat a patient who faints:
- Some patients may have fainted because of irregular heartbeats, which can even be life-threatening. To determine whether your patient is facing this issue, doctors can use an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator to regulate the heartbeats.
- For syncope patients who have heart conditions, beta-blockers can be a good option.
- Health care providers should advise fainting patients to restrict their exercise in the future.
- Patients with recurring fainting spells resulting from very low heart rate might require pacemakers. In case of patients with common faints, drugs may be enough to control the situation.
- In case of unexplained fainting, heart rhythm monitoring is a good option to determine whether or not the patient has intermittent heart rhythm issues resulting in fainting.
The American College of Cardiology also advises athletes with fainting issues to visit an experienced health care provider for a heart assessment. These are some of the basic guidelines that can help in providing the right level of care for people who faint.
