Understanding Fainting Spells: Causes, Symptoms & When to Worry

Question
my husband is 34.  we have been married for 9 1/2 years and over the course of our marriage he has about 4 to 5 fainting spells.  usually he is in the bathroom and just gets light headed and passes out.(sometimes just lightheaded, not passing out completely)  he says he does not feel funny but noticed the last time it happened he felt his heart race a little.  could he have something serios wrong even though they happen so far apart.  he even went like 3 years of not having one.he is very active and nothing has ever happened outside of the home like at work or while he was out.  it is just like out of the blue, he will faint.  please help me decide if we need to have an exstensive work up done.  we have no insurance.

Answer
if someone has a heart that contracts normally, then the things that cause fainting are more annoying than critically dangerous.  But, it is impossible to tell without some basic testing.  Cost wise, an ecg and an echocardiogram would offer up some reassurance.  We sometimes do a 24 hr heart monitor, but given the freq of occurences, the chance of finding anything in one 24 hr period is low.