What is Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome? Know about its symptoms here.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is an autonomic nervous system disorder that causes your heart rate to increase when your posture changes, i.e. when you stand up from a sitting or lying position.

It is one of three types of orthostatic intolerance, the others being vasovagal syncope and orthostatic hypotension.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, “The body’s autonomic nervous system balances heart rate and blood pressure to keep blood flowing at a healthy rate, regardless of the body’s position. If you have POTS, your body can’t coordinate the balance between blood vessel constriction (squeezing) and heart rate response. This means your body can’t keep blood pressure stable. This can lead to a variety of symptoms.”

Not all cases of POTS are the same, and each case is different. Now let’s look at the symptoms of postural orthostatic tachycardia and who is most likely to be affected.

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome Symptoms

Although symptoms vary from person to person and may occur suddenly or over a period of time. Here are some of the most common symptoms of postural tachycardia syndrome:

  • Dizziness or vertigo when changing from a sitting or lying position to an upright position during prolonged standing or walking.
  • Losing consciousness or passing out.
  • Nausea and vomiting.
  • Increased heart rate, faster heartbeat
  • Chronic fatigue and exhaustion
  • Headache
  • Chest pain (angina)
  • Shortness of breath
  • Excessive sweating
  • Brain fog, which is poor memory and concentration
  • If the limbs are below the level of the heart, the face will be pale and the hands and feet will be blue

Symptoms of postural tachycardia syndrome often worsen when:

  • Being in a warm environment, such as a hot shower, sauna, hot weather, etc.
  • Standing for long periods of time, such as when shopping, waiting for a bus, or participating in other activities.
  • Not drinking enough fluids or skipping meals.
  • During a cold or infection

How does POTS affect the body?

A normal person may feel dizzy when moving from a sitting to an upright position. This is due to gravity, as approximately 10-15% of the blood is concentrated in the legs, arms, and abdomen.

This reduces blood flow to the brain, causing dizziness, but the body’s autonomic nervous system kicks in other mechanisms, such as releasing the hormones adrenaline and norepinephrine.

These hormones make the heart beat faster and help pump more blood to the heart and brain.

In people with POTS, more blood is stored below the heart than normal, which causes the body to release more adrenaline and norepinephrine to constrict blood vessels.

However, for some reason, the blood vessels of people with POTS do not respond well to these hormones, resulting in reduced blood flow to the brain, causing brain fog and dizziness. The increased heart rate corresponds to the heart’s response to the hormones adrenaline and norepinephrine.

This can cause imbalances in the body and trigger symptoms associated with POTS.

Who is most at risk?

POTS is most common in women between the ages of 15 and 50, and sometimes in men of the same age. But you are more likely to develop POTS if you also have the following conditions:

  • Viral infections such as mononucleosis, COVID, etc.
  • Any type of head trauma or injury.
  • Pregnant
  • Any recent surgery on the body, especially the brain.
  • People with autoimmune diseases such as lupus and celiac disease

Treatment of postural tachycardia syndrome

Although there is no definitive cure for postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS), doctors can recommend different strategies based on a person’s symptoms and the treatment that works best for them.

The mainstay of treatment is lifestyle changes, dietary modifications, and exercise. Most people get better control of their symptoms with these lifestyle changes.

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