There’s a significant chance I have Syncope. It started back in March, but the passing out was so spaced that at first I thought it was low blood sugar, or an issue with that. After adjusting my diet and having two doctor appointments, it seemed that I didn’t really have an answer, until I remembered my father has Syncope.

Syncope is when the heart and brain don’t talk like they should, causing passing out and surging blood pressure to recover from passing out. When you’re active the heart speeds up to get more blood and oxygen to the brain and when you slow down after that the heart should slow down slowly but in Syncope the heart slows down too fast, and the brain still needs more oxygen. The individual experiences white spots, dizziness, hears buzzing, and passes out.

That in and of itself is not so bad, so long as you’re not driving, crossing the street, running, living, etc. But to worsen matters, when the brain realizes you’ve passed out it yells at the heart and the heart kicks into overdrive, pumping furiously to get oxygen back to the brain. At that time, your blood pressure goes sky rockets and if you have any weak arteries, they blow. That’s what’s commonly called a stroke or an aneurism.

My father had his first heart attack at twenty-eight and has been living on Tenormin (also referred to as a beta blocker) since 1999. The good is that you don’t pass out, the bad is that you learn to live with feeling drained and exhausted. Your heart just doesn’t kick in as well, which is what the medication is designed to do.

I find it sad and ironic that the only thing my father ever gave me from his heart was a disease.