Title: what causes a blackout?
Headings: 

Content: This is the cause of fainting. The blackout occurs because blood pressure suddenly drops and the brain is temporarily starved of oxygen and glucose. Although a faint can cause accidental injury, it is not dangerous of itself, provided the patient can lie down flat. Lying flat tends to restore blood flow to the brain, especially if the head is down and the feet are raised. About half of us suffer a faint at some time during life. Other Causes of Blackouts. The other important causes of a blackout are epilepsy and a psychological cause. Whereas 50% of us may faint, only about 0.7% have epilepsy, so that a blackout is much more likely to be due to a faint than an epileptic attack. Is it a fit or is it a faint? Whilst we can all usually recognise a simple faint, distinguishing between syncope and epilepsy can be very difficult.