Cases of PoTS Have Been On The Rise Since Covid — Here Are the Symptoms To Watch For

According to the NHS: “Postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) is when your heart rate increases very quickly after getting up from sitting or lying down. It can get better with changes to your lifestyle, but some people may need treatment with medicines.”

The condition is also sometimes known as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

In recent years, cases of the condition have risen and interest in it has, too, with Google Trends data showing that even just in the past year, there has been a 61% increase in people searching for the term.

With this in mind, a team of scientists has looked into the relationship between PoTS and Covid-19 vaccinations.

While it was originally hypothesised that PoTS was brought on by vaccinations against the Covid infection, their study showed that patients who received a Covid-19 vaccination and then went on to have new or exacerbated PoTS all had pre-existing conditions that can lead to a PoTS diagnosis.

“Covid-19 infection itself seems to be either causing or unmasking a startling amount of PoTS or PoTS-like conditions globally”, said Debbie L. Teodorescu, MD, a cardiology fellow at the Smidt Heart Institute who was part of a study into the relationship between Covid-19 and PoTS.

However, this condition is still relatively rare, with around only two in 1000 people in the UK havingbeen diagnosed with it according to Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, making it essential to be familiar with the symptoms

What is PoTS and what are the symptoms?

A warning sign is experiencing these symptoms when you stand up, which then improve when you sit or lie back down:

• dizziness or light-headedness
• fainting or almost fainting
• noticeable heartbeats (heart palpitations)
• chest pain
• shortness of breath
• shaking and sweating

However, sometimes other symptoms appear that may not immediately indicate PoTS, such as:

• problems with your stomach or digestion, such as feeling sick, being sick, diarrhoea, constipation, bloating and tummy pain
• headaches and problems with your sight, such as blurred vision or tunnel vision
• your hands and feet looking purple – this may be more difficult to see if you have brown or black skin
• weakness and extreme tiredness (fatigue), not being able to do much exercise, and sleeping badly
• problems with thinking, memory and concentration (brain fog)

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms regularly, speak to your GP.