Dizziness Upon Standing Linked to COVID-19
POTS emerging as long-haul symptom months after COVID-19 infection
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) symptoms include rapid heart rate, dizziness upon standing, light-headedness, headache, and palpitations
Viral illnesses, severe infections, or traumas are usually followed by POTS in 30% to 50% of patients.
Even months after recovering from COVID-19 infection, patients can experience long term symptoms that are consistent with a diagnosis of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), according to a clinical case report.
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is a circulatory disorder which is characterized by an increase in heart rate or tachycardia. POTS condition is most commonly known for causing dizziness upon standing, other symptoms include light-headedness, headache, palpitations, fatigue, blurred vision, brain fog, nausea, and exercise intolerance.
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The possibility of COVID-19 long-haulers experiencing symptoms suggestive of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) was strengthened by a small case series from Sweden.
Three young patients who were suspected of having COVID-19 in the spring of 2020 were diagnosed with POTS more than 3 months later on the grounds of orthostatic tachycardia and chronic symptoms of orthostatic intolerance after exclusion of competing etiologies, reported a group led by Madeleine Johansson, MD, PhD, of Lund University and Skåne University Hospital in Malmö, Sweden, in a paper published online in Much remains unknown about the specific mechanisms responsible for the POTS-like symptoms in post-COVID-19 patients or how long these symptoms will last, but chronic symptoms are expected in a subset of patients based on this initial clinical experience, Johansson s team said.
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People with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) found some relief wearing a waist-high compression garment, according to a small 30-person trial with randomized crossover design.
On the 10-minute head-up tilt test (HUT), larger areas of compression around the torso were associated with significant downward trends in heart rate (HR) and Vanderbilt Orthostatic Symptom Score (VOSS) symptoms:
No compression: HR 109 beats/min on average, with mean VOSS ~25 units
Lower leg compression: 103 beats/min, and VOSS ~23 units
Abdominal and thigh compression: 97 beats/min, with VOSS ~15 units
Full abdominal and leg compression: 92 beats/min, and VOSS ~10 units
The study therefore provides proof-of-principle evidence to support the acute efficacy of this relatively inexpensive and easy to implement treatment for people with POTS, according to Satish Raj, MD, of University of Calgary in Alberta, and colleagues reporting in the Jan. 26 issue of the