Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD on August 10, 2020
What Is Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome?
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a disorder in which most of your blood stays in your lower body when you stand up, and in response, your heart rate jumps.
Your blood usually flows at a steady rate whether you're sitting, standing, lying down, or hanging upside-down from a tree branch in the backyard. But if that rate changes when you change positions, that’s a condition called orthostatic intolerance (OI). It’s the most common symptom of POTS. It can make you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or faint.
POTS makes your heart beat faster to try to get blood to your brain. Your heart rate can go up by 30 beats or more a minute after you stand. As that happens, your blood pressure is likely to drop.
POTS Symptoms
POTS can throw your whole body off balance. You might have:
- Dizziness or fainting
- Blurry vision Nausea
- Vomiting
- Belly pain
- Bloating
- Diarrhea or constipation
- Severe sweating
- Brain fog
- Extreme fatigue
- Blurry vision
- Higher or lower blood pressure
- Faster or slower heartbeat
- Chest pain
- Feeling hot or cold
- Feeling anxious, nervous, or jittery
- Shaking or tremors
- Headaches, body aches, or neck pain
- Insomnia
- Unusual color in hands and feet
You might be more likely to notice these when you're in the shower, standing in line, or feeling stressed. You also may have POTS symptoms after you eat because your intestines need more blood for digestion.
