DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My daughter and five of her friends, all in their early 20s, recently attended an outdoor concert. During the concert, my daughter fainted and was taken to the emergency room of a local hospital. The hospital, after checking her over, released her to the care of her friends. She had not been drinking or doing drugs.

The diagnosis was vasovagal syncope. Does this need follow-up? My daughter says no. — C.O.

ANSWER: Syncope is a faint, a brief loss of consciousness. Vasovagal, also called neurocardiogenic, syncope is the most common kind of faint. It happens to people in overheated places, when standing in one place for a long time or when hunger becomes intolerable. Stress and extreme excitement also can lead to a faint.

The cause is a temporary drop in blood circulation to the brain. Most of our blood supply — three-quarters of it — is in our veins. If anything interferes with vein blood getting back to the heart, the blood supply to the brain is shortchanged. Normally, reflexes kick in, speed the heart and contract the veins to increase blood circulation to the brain. With vasovagal syncope, those reflexes don’t work. The person slumps to the ground. In the horizontal position, blood does get back to the heart and then to the brain, and the episode quickly is over.

The hospital must have done tests to rule out the dangerous cause of syncope — abnormal heartbeats, heart valve disorders, chronic circulatory problems to the brain. Apparently, none of these conditions was found. No harm can come from having the family doctor examine the young lady. It doesn’t appear that she has a serious problem.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have a pain that starts near my elbow and shoots down my arm to the little finger. It doesn’t happen all the time. I don’t know what brings it on. It just appears to happen for no reason. What could this be? — E.J.

ANSWER: I’m sure you’ve heard of carpal tunnel syndrome. It’s due to a compression of a wrist nerve as it passes through a tunnel of ligaments and bones on its way to the hand and fingers.

You describe something similar, compression of the ulnar nerve at the elbow. This nerve supplies the little finger and the adjacent side of the ring finger. Compression of the nerve causes the kind of symptoms you have. You can try a simple treatment, an elbow splint. Your wear it at night, and the elbow should be bent about 60 degrees. Give it a week. If the pain doesn’t leave, you should have an exam. Other conditions can cause the same kind of pain.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: How much stress does sex put on the heart? I don’t have a heart problem. I know two fellow workers, who, according to scuttlebutt, died while having sex. They were about my age. — R.L.

ANSWER: Scuttlebutt isn’t a reliable source of information.

Blood pressure and heart rate rise during sexual relations, but not so much as to be a source of concern for most men and women, even those who have had a heart attack. The energy expenditure is approximately the same as climbing two flights of stairs. That is, walking, not running, up those flights.

Most people who have had a heart attack can resume an active sex life within three to six weeks of having the attack. The exact amount of time has to be determined by the person’s physician, who takes into account the magnitude of the heart attack and how well the heart is currently performing.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Please settle a disagreement. How long can a person live without food or water? — G.S.

ANSWER: A person can live four to six weeks without food, but only one to two weeks without water. Do I win anything?

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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