What would causes someone to black out behind the wheel while driving?

A friend of mine has blacked out twice in the last 2 years behind the wheel. The first time she black out she ran over a mail box and this last time she blacked out and hit a building with her car. The doctors can not find a reason why she is having these black out episodes. What could be causing them and any information you can give me will be greatly appreciated.|||"Blacking out" or syncope can have severe causes, some more serious than others. The most important causes to rule out are cardiac arrhythmias, strokes or seizures. Medications that can decrease blood pressure or loss of cosciousness are also important considerations. She really needs to get a thorough workup of her heart (EKG and Holter monitor and echocardiogram), MRI of the brain and depending on the story and EEG at minimum to try to determine the cause. Just as important is that she should not be driving until a cause can be found. Many states have driving restriction laws for patients who have episodes of loss of consciousness or seizures and notwithstanding the legal issues of getting into an accident if she's had fainting spells, I'm sure the last thing she was to do is to kill or severely injure someone.|||sleep apnea can cause unexplained blackouts.. best to have a sleep study done at her local hospital.|||Drugs, alcohol, narcolepsy, epilepsy/seizures, low blood pressure, low blood sugar, all come to mind. Until the doctors figure this out, she should not have a license. . . .|||Acute Hypotension, Epilepsy, Cardiac- like subclavian steal syndrome and aortic stenosis, Hypoglycemia.





Random syncopes not induced by drugs or alcohol can be very hard to diagnose...........





..|||dehydrated|||because they could of had to much to drink|||Could be anything.....not eating properly, drugs, epilepsy...the list goes on and on....only a doctor would be able to determine the real reason !|||She could be diabetic and her insulin or sugar levels are way off, maybe she has a sleeping disorder where she falls asleep very easily, or maybe she is just a real bad driver and telling everyone she blacked out so she wont get in so much trouble|||I'm amazed the doctor just sent her away.|||seizures|||Maybe she/he should get a brain scan, maybe lack of sleep, seizures, etc|||She could be having epileptic seizures. Brain tumors are a possibility as are cardiac events and arrythmias. If your doctors can not find a reason FIND NEW DOCTORS|||A blackout or sudden loss of consciousness can be due to several causes, and it is not always easy to determine the exact cause in a particular case. A simple faint would probably be the least serious cause. Fainting can occur for many reasons, such as standing in one position for a long time, being dehydrated, severe fright (e.g., at the sight of blood), or other emotional stress. Prior to fainting, some people may experience warning symptoms such as sweating, light-headedness, weak knees, or queasiness of the stomach.





A variety of heart problems can cause a blackout. Some people may have very low blood pressure or a sudden drop in their blood pressure when they stand up. Irregularities of heart rhythm may produce a sudden loss of consciousness without any warning signs. The heart may stop beating for a while or throw in extra beats or beat very fast, all of which result in reduced blood flow to the brain.





A seizure is another reason for loss of consciousness. With a seizure, the person may have jerking movements of the arms and legs and lose bowel or bladder control.|||high or low blood pressure, epilepsy my friend used to black out with that.





i would tell her to go back to the doctors for a ct scan, that is dangerous driving with blackouts, she could cause an accident or death





ADDITIONAL


why thumbs down of course if someone blacks out then they are not conscience of what they are doing, which means not concentrating on driving|||A fifth of Old Grand Dad!|||usually people lose a lot of brain cells and that might cause their brain to not function properly|||Might wanna get that checked out





could be





Dehydration


Pinched nerves


Lack of O2


Something more serious....|||It is the way her body reacts with her Brain