Elderly people with low blood pressure after eating should avoid large meals or plan to lie down for a few hours after eating. In most cases, medications that cause fainting are withdrawn or changed. Controlling high blood pressure, for example, would call for a medication and lifestyle change. In some cases, specific antiarrhythmic medication may be prescribed. Bypass surgery or angioplasty is used to treat coronary artery disease.
Valve replacement is used for some valve problems.
Catheter ablation is available to treat some arrhythmias. These may be implanted to slow arrhythmias. Implanted defibrillators are used to control life-threatening fast arrhythmias. The prognosis for a person who has fainted greatly depends on the underlying cause. Fainting that is not associated with cardiac or neurologic disease, however, produces no greater risk.