Anxiety/Panic Attacks leading to fainting and loss of reaction

[jbjoon1988]

Hi. I need information for a close friend of mine. He is in his late 40's and over the last 6 months has had a change in his married life. He has found of that he was cheated on by his wife but still wants to continue with his married life and work through the problems.

During every arguments or slight suspicion he tends to lead into an attack.

90% of his attacks start with heavy breathing, lightheaded ness and after a few minutes suddenly he will loose control of his body and faint (he has fallen head first a few times and this lead to heavy headaches.) When he faints, he eyes are still open, his is breathing slows right down and he is non responsive. He blinks quite often but will not respond when asked to.

It usually takes another few minutes and after moving him on his side and airway opened he will start to breathe regularly and usualy is breathing heavy again and is extremely emotional afterwards. Sometime (but rarely) he will lead into another attack and the process with repeat. Once he comes to and is sitting up and calms down he is still very tense and depressed for usually 30/40 mins. I have been present for 15/20 attacks however he has admitted he has had attack without anyone there.

He is rather reluctant to seek medical advice just yet so i need advice as to whether I should take him to the doctor and whether he should be on medication. His health is otherwise quite good, he is a non smoker/drinker, is normal weight and has no previous heart problems.

Apart from the obvious elimination of stress from his life, any advice on how to prevent or manage the attacks will be much appreciated.

[jbjoon1988]

Thanks for your comments guys. I will try get him to agree to goto a doctor and will keep you guys posted on any progress. Thanks again for your responses.

[jlroesner]

My doc said the same thing as Alison's.  Rarely do we actually ever pass out from anxiety attacks, though it sure feels like it.  He needs to see his med doctor to rule out any physical issues that can cause fainting (sometimes people with an unknown heart murmur faint a lot).  I'm not a doctor though, just a nursing student.  In any case, as I have learned if any disorders will make exceptions out of the rule, it's panic disorder.  If anything, maybe his doctor will refer him to a psychiatrist who can help him get on some meds if necessary...  Goodness he is lucky to have you!

[Alisonj29]

I think he needs a doctor soon as well. My therapist and doctors always told me that even though I feel like I am going to pass out that panic attacks to not lead to actually passing out. Maybe he is overbreathing so badly that is causes him too but either way he needs to be seen. He has had a stressful time which can cause major anxiety but since it is affecting him so badly he needs to talk to his doctor.
Good Luck and its great that he has you helping him

[jul04]

I would strongly suggest that he see a dr.  He needs to be looked at to make sure he doesn't have anything medically wrong with him.

If it is from the stress/anxiety then he needs to see a psychatrist.  They are trained to help teach people dealing with anxiety and who are under alot of stress coping skills.  If it is from stress/anxiety the only real way he is going to get better is to deal with what is causing it.

He also might want to consider marriage counseling if he is committed to saving his marriage.

I really hope you can convince him to seek medical help.  Good luck and keep us posted.....