Passed Out On a Run

I passed out on a run once as a result of a pulmonary embolism. A blood clot formed in my leg, then travelled to my lungs. In my case the initial ECG and basic triage stuff suggested I was fine. The d-dimer test for clotting returned positive and then they did a CT scan of my lungs. I had 30% of my right lung capacity blocked, but because my heart is strong and resting heart rate is in the low-mid 40s I didn't pass out until I exerted myself and increased the demand for oxygen.

Apparently endurance athletes with low resting HR are prone to this.

I'm glad you're getting right in. Think of the time off as a little break; don't stress about it. If you're like me, you rarely take time off, and if it is absolutely mandatory it can be almost welcome :)

Neuro might skip CT and go straight to MRI since it'll show so much more detail. I'd imagine that he'll go through a bunch of questions to get more detail and go from there.

Not as familiar with the cardio side, but that's where you want to be more careful of anything too strenuous prior to diagnosis. Get out with your wife, girlfriend, friend or whomever and go for a few long walks if you can, that way you can talk about some of the aspects out loud and it may help trigger some memories that might be helpful for the Dr. Obviously, nothing strenuous, but it'll get you outside.

It's scary as hell, I know... But you'll be alright regardless of the diagnosis. Be glad you're physically healthy. If it was heart/neuro related, this incident probably saved your life since you're now getting everything checked. If there is a pesky clot/lesion/etc. hiding somewhere, they'll find it.

And remember it could all just be metabolic, too. It may end up being that you just ate too little.

One thing that stuck out in your original post: you "took" caffeine. I initially inferred that you just had coffee. If you're taking caffeine pills, cut that shit out right now. For good.

I'm pulling for you, so you've got good vibes and prayers coming from one anonymous guy (at least). I've been through something similar and hate seeing these kinds of things happen to others. Runners tend to think they're invincible -I certainly did- and we have to remember that we're not. That's not a bad thing; it can wake us up to a lot of positives in this world.

Keep us updated and good luck at your appointments.

tycobb wrote:

I took some caffeine but I have been doing that once a week for years...

?... So you took one 200mg caffeine pill? Is that what you mean?

People who don't routinely drink coffee can have adverse reactions to caffeine. I'm not saying that's what happened, but it's something you should mention to the doctor even if you have done it "once a week for years."

The headaches, dizziness, etc could be as simple as a whack on the head when you fell and not be related to the fainting at all.

Anyway, I hope everything works out for you.

Agreed here. You need to get an exercising EKG to loom for any possible heart arrythmia. This is the most likely cause.

return to index wrote:

That sounds very scary, sorry that happened to you.

A friend of mine fainted on a run as well, and they found out he had an issue with his heart. A very fit guy and experienced runner.

Agreed here. You need to get an exercising EKG to loom for any possible heart arrythmia. This is the most likely cause.

return to index wrote:

That sounds very scary, sorry that happened to you.

A friend of mine fainted on a run as well, and they found out he had an issue with his heart. A very fit guy and experienced runner.

Agreed here. You need to get an exercising EKG to loom for any possible heart arrythmia. This is the most likely cause.

return to index wrote:

That sounds very scary, sorry that happened to you.

A friend of mine fainted on a run as well, and they found out he had an issue with his heart. A very fit guy and experienced runner.

A couple of updates:

A small mark showed up yesterday on my forehead so I might have hit my head, which might explain some of this. I still don't remember any tripping or anything just running and then trying to get up. I have my specialist appt tomorrow.

I took one 200 mg of caffeine pill. I drink coke so I use some caffeine but hate coffee. I've been doing this for years for my races and interval days (once a week). I do it on my interval days mainly so I don't do something new for races. Why is that so much worse than strong coffee? I know it isn't healthy but guys have been drinking strong coffee forever.

I appreciate the responses.

sometimes this stuff happens. I was out on a bike ride once and have no idea what happened but passed out straight up on the road. Woke up in the hospital and had no idea what had happened or how long i was laying there. Probably about 35 at the time. Healthy and hydrating/eating well. Don't think too much into it, may just be slight dehydration, running a fever, etc. If it happens again, then you want to go for further testing. It hasn't happened again.

interesting you say that. While on a long run, we had to stop at a light…my teammate was crushing it, then right after the stop he was all of a sudden felt dizzy like he was having a "stroke." He layed down on someones lawn and we had to go get him with our cars. He literally couldn't walk, so maybe this is similar to what happened since it happened from the stop.

At 32, I passed out running after a day with little eating and normal amounts of coffee. I had done this for years with no ill effect. Since then, if I run after a day with little eating, and following a cup of coffee, I can feel the symptoms come on and I need to stop for about 5 minutes to settle my blood sugar/pressure.

Good luck, hopefully that is the only issue.

tycobb wrote:

I took one 200 mg of caffeine pill. I drink coke so I use some caffeine but hate coffee. I've been doing this for years for my races and interval days (once a week). I do it on my interval days mainly so I don't do something new for races. Why is that so much worse than strong coffee? I know it isn't healthy but guys have been drinking strong coffee forever.

I appreciate the responses.

I don't think it's any different than two cups of strong coffee, but your comment stuck out to me because more people use caffeine regularly than once a week. I frequently take a caffeine pill before a workout when I can't get a cup of coffee that morning, but I'm a regular coffee drinker.

It struck me as being outside of the norm and since your passing out was outside the norm, it was what hit me about your post. It might have no correlation, but you should mention it to the doctor.