UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. A recent study reveals that fainting could be a hereditary condition. Fainting is a condition wherein a person losses consciousness very briefly. It happens when the body reacts to certain triggers which cause the person to faint. The study suggests that the only gene that may be responsible for fainting is the one which is known as vasovagal syncope. It is a gene that runs in the family as it is passed on from one generation to another.

During the study, the researchers suggested that although fainting could be hereditary, the trigger that causes it may not. That means different kinds of triggers could cause some members of the family to faint. The team of researchers also interviewed at least 44 families with a history of fainting. Of all the 44 families who were interviewed, 6 families had a large number of affected people. It only suggested that there was a single gene running through their family which caused fainting.

Among the families that had the largest number of affected members, the common triggers they shared included the sight of blood, medical procedures, pain, injury, frightening thoughts and even prolonged standing.

The study was conducted by Professor Samuel Berkovic of the University of Melbourne and his team of researchers. The family with the largest number of affected members had to undergo genotyping in order for the researchers to study about the family’s genetic makeup of chromosome 15, known as “15q26”. Currently, the research team’s study results show strong evidence that fainting may be genetic. They aim to uncover the mystery of this phenomenon in order for them to recognize the risk and possibly reduce the occurrence of fainting.