The recent pneumonia may have been another factor in triggering Mrs. Clinton’s near-fainting episode, especially considering she was standing for about 90 minutes on a warm and humid day in a suit. If she was wearing Kevlar, that would have obviously contributed to the heat.
Mrs. Clinton is under the care of a physician and had a thorough work-up when she fainted in 2012 and a documented annual exam in 2015. As a result, we can exclude every heart condition as a cause.
Using the San Francisco Syncope Rule, which looks at risk factors like previous congestive heart failure, Clinton is likely at low risk from this event as she doesn’t have any of the medical conditions that typically predict a worse outcome, such as congestive heart failure or a low blood count, based on her doctor’s letter in 2015.
Whether a person who almost-faints or faints should go to the emergency department depends on many factors such as the specific cause, whether they are recovering appropriately or have they injured themselves, if they have any underlying illness, and their age.
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