Going to Mass can make you collapse, a new study shows.
The multiple sudden changes in position during Mass from sitting to kneeling to standing can cause fainting or in medical terms a syncope episode due to a fall in blood pressure.
Syncope is described as a transient, self-limited loss of consciousness with an inability to maintain postural tone that is followed by spontaneous recovery.
The study, carried out by the Department of Aging and Therapeutics at UL Hospital Group in Limerick, focused on Mass in particular as it is a common situation where people can lose consciousness due to short bouts of sitting, standing and kneeling.
Syncope is common and accounts for 1 to 2 per cent of annual Emergency Department presentations and often leads to hospital admission.
In the 2016 census, 78.3 per cent of Irish people identified as Catholic, and attending weekly or daily Mass remains common throughout the country.
The study, published in this month’s Irish Medical Journal, examined the number of times and the duration of stance changes during a Sunday Catholic Mass.
The review identified 110 cases of fainting, with 56.3 per cent taking place at Mass with patients being brought to University Hospital Limerick as a result.