# @science on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DVt2-yWErrV
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/59103986-science-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/605403b286.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-03-10T20:00:27.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Science 🧬 (@science) — https://gondola.cc/science

## Caption

Blame a rare condition called defecation syncope, a fancy term for the loss of consciousness, or fainting, that can occur while pooping. When we get ready to drop one, we instinctively employ a breathing technique known as the Valsalva maneuver, explained Satish Rao, M.D., Ph.D., the director of the Digestive Health Center at Augusta University in 2016.⁠
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You essentially bear down to poop. You take a deep breath and hold it before trying to exhale against your closed-off airway. This expands your lungs and pushes down your diaphragm. Your diaphragm, in turn, pushes down on your abdominal organs, which puts pressure on your pelvis. As a result, the muscles in your anus gently open up, allowing the stool to come out.⁠
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But when you hold your breath this way, several important changes are occurring elsewhere in your body, too, said Dr. Rao.⁠
Since you’re holding air in your lung cavity, you end up compromising your blood flow. As a result, less blood travels to your heart and your brain, leading to a drop in blood pressure. This can cause you to become dizzy and faint.⁠
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And if blood flow to the heart is compromised—especially in someone who already has some artery blockages—that can be enough to trigger a heart attack, too, said Dr. Rao.⁠
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#science #biology #condition #medicine⁠

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condition, science, medicine, biology

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