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Unconsciousness may occur as the result of traumatic brain injury, brain hypoxia (inadequate oxygen, possibly due to a brain infarction or cardiac arrest), severe intoxication with drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system (e.g., alcohol and other hypnotic or sedative drugs), severe fatigue, pain, anaesthesia, and other causes.
Causes range from non-serious to potentially fatal. [1] There are three broad categories of causes: heart or blood vessel related; reflex, also known as neurally mediated; and orthostatic hypotension. [1] Issues with the heart and blood vessels are the cause in about 10% and typically the most serious while neurally mediated is the most common. [1]
Severe asthma and various sorts of anemia can cause some degree of diffuse cerebral hypoxia. Other causes include status epilepticus, work in nitrogen-rich environments, ascent from a deep-water dive, flying at high altitudes in an unpressurized cabin without supplemental oxygen, and intense exercise at high altitudes prior to acclimatization.
Reflex syncope can occur in otherwise healthy individuals, and has many possible causes, often trivial ones such as prolonged standing with the legs locked. [citation needed] The main danger of vasovagal syncope (or dizzy spells from vertigo) is the risk of injury by falling while unconscious.
The main cause is total necrosis of the cerebral neurons following loss of brain oxygenation. After brain death the patient lacks any sense of awareness; sleep-wake cycles or behavior, and typically look as if they are dead or are in a deep sleep-state or coma.
At this point, patients will be unconscious or about to become unconscious. [3] Symptoms of respiratory compromise can differ with each patient. Complications from respiratory compromise are increasing rapidly across the clinical spectrum, partly due to expanded use of opioids combined with the lack of standardized guidelines among medical ...
Prolonged unconsciousness is understood to be a sign of a medical emergency. [3] A deficit in the level of consciousness suggests that both of the cerebral hemispheres or the reticular activating system have been injured. [4] A decreased level of consciousness correlates to increased morbidity (sickness) and mortality (death). [5]
Situations that can cause asphyxia include but are not limited to: airway obstruction, the constriction or obstruction of airways, such as from asthma, laryngospasm, or simple blockage from the presence of foreign materials; from being in environments where oxygen is not readily accessible: such as underwater, in a low oxygen atmosphere, or in a vacuum; environments where sufficiently ...