NEW WEB SITE ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT RECURRENT FAINTING
For Thousands Who Faint and Don't Know Why, www.fainting.com
Offers Information on Possible Causes as well as a New Diagnostic Tool
MINNEAPOLIS, MN, December 16, 1998 -- People who faint time and again and don't know why become desperate for answers. Their desperation only grows when, after repeated tests and doctor visits, no one can tell them why they faint.
A new web site, www.fainting.com, may shed light on why blackouts occur. The site, which makes its debut on the Internet today, can help patients and their families better understand what might be happening to cause their fainting, and what can be done to get to the bottom of it.
Fainting, also known as syncope (sing'-koe-pee), is a widespread medical problem, accounting for more than 160,000 hospitalizations annually in the U.S. It is estimated that as many as 1.5 million people are evaluated and treated for fainting each year in the U.S., at a cost to the health care system of more than $1 billion. Fainting can lead to falls and traffic accidents, forcing people who faint recurrently to give up driving, work and other daily activities out of fear that their condition might lead to disastrous consequences. Because fainting can be a symptom of an abnormal heart rhythm, its cause can be dangerous if left undiagnosed and untreated.
www.fainting.com provides information about fainting, ways it can be diagnosed and various treatments that can correct the underlying cause and stop the fainting altogether. It also highlights a new diagnostic tool, the Revealâ Insertable Loop Recorder from Medtronic, Inc., now available to help physicians determine the cause of previously unexplained fainting. The site also provides information on the different types of physicians who may be able to help syncope sufferers. An interactive area allows visitors to request additional information or get help in finding a local physician to help diagnose the cause of fainting.
Content on the site has been reviewed by a Physician Advisory Board, made up of some of the leading international specialists in syncope, including:
Stephen C. Hammill, M.D., professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.;
George J. Klein, M.D., head of the cardiology division at the University of Western Ontario and co-inventor of the Revealâ Insertable Loop Recorder, and
J. Rod Gimbel, M.D., of Cardiology Associates of East Tennessee, Knoxville.
The site also contains information specifically for health professionals interested in learning more about syncope and the Revealâ Insertable Loop Recorder, including case studies, an article on diagnosing syncope and information on the cost of syncope to the health care system.
www.fainting.com is sponsored by Medtronic, Inc., the manufacturer of the Revealâ Insertable Loop Recorder. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Medtronic is the world's leading medical technology company specializing in implantable and interventional therapies. Its Internet address is www.medtronic.com.
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