United States: Recently, POTS has been in the news after Olympic medalist Katie Ledecky, who has won 14 medals in swimming, with the most medals grabbed by a female Olampian title, revealed her condition.
More about POTS
POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) is a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system that is responsible for some of the body’s normal rhythmic functions, says Dr. Blair Grubb, a cardiologist and leading expert on POTS at The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences.
He said, “When the person stands, gravity will try to displace downward roughly 20% to 30% of the body’s blood volume,” as Fox News reported.
According to the doctor, as a result of this displacement, the brain instructs the heart to increase the rate and force of heartbeat, and a signal is sent to the blood vessels of the lower half of the body, the arteries, to constrict them to a level three times higher than before, according to the doctor.
“This allows for accumulation of much more blood than normal in the lower half of the body,” Grubb added.
Because the blood is displaced, the brain is deprived of the much-needed oxygen, which ensures that more blood is in the lower part of the body.
Causes of the condition
Grubb postulated that people with a genetic trait known as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which is referred to as joint hypermobility syndrome, seem to be at a higher risk of getting this infection.
He said, “However, POTS is frequently triggered by a viral infection, such as Epstein-Barr virus or COVID-19,” as Fox News reported.
An infection of the heart lining can lead to a situation where the body harms itself through an autoimmune mechanism, producing antibodies that prevent blood vessels from narrowing, said the doctor.
POTS can also occur in isolation – that is, the patient presents with the condition but with no antecedent event that might precipitate the condition.
Symptoms of POTS
POTS patient’s symptoms remain the down displacement of blood, according to some specialists.
According to Valerie Iovine, PT, a physical therapist at Strive Physical Therapy in Philadelphia, “It can vary from mild cases where your heart races and you get a little dizzy upon standing, all the way to presenting as a disabling condition, disallowing patients from being upright.”
“It can also change over the course of life, but can also change day to day or week to week,” he continued.