[Doczilla]

I'm with the others. You've gotta see your doctor.

The potential causes of your syncope are many and varied. It may be something as simple as hydration status, though I imagine you know a whole lot more about this than the average patient, and have addressed this. There are other things to consider. Carotid stenosis has already been mentioned. There could be an arrhythmia, subclavian steal, vagal hypersensitivity, or other things. The fact that you actually lost consciousness means that this is something that should not be ignored. There are a great many simple, non-invasive tests which can and should be done here. Bloodwork, carotid ultrasound, and an EKG have been mentioned. I would add a holter monitor, 2D cardiac echo, and stress test (preferrably a stress echo). If you have an MRI available (probably not, given that there are mortars and rockets where you are), I'd do an MRA of your brain and neck vessels instead of a carotid U/S, since that will give a whole lot more information about the posterior circulation.

Your training and experience make you a valuable asset to SF, an asset and invesment that should be well guarded. This syncope is a clue that there is something that needs to be addressed. Better to heed the clues now and get the workup while there is time and the ability to do so, and head off a potentially worrisome problem before it gets worse.


'zilla