POTSEverything about POTS, in the order you will ask it.
Pick the track that fits. If you think you might have POTS, start at 1 and move to 2. If you already have it, jump to 3 and 4. Every page cites its sources, and interpreting your own numbers stays with a doctor who can examine you.
Type in your stand test and see the change at each minute beside the published threshold.
Every option with the trial behind it, its limits, and whether it is approved for POTS.
Guidelines and newer studies, each linked to the paper.
A printable checklist: what to bring, tests to ask about, questions to ask.
What is happening when I stand up?
The plain-language basics, and the symptoms that point toward a measurement.
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome in plain words: what happens in your body when you stand, who gets it, how common it is, and what the outlook looks like.
The symptoms people with POTS report most, why they happen on standing, which ones should send you to urgent care, and the conditions that mimic them.
Common reasons your heart rate jumps on standing, what a stand test measures, and when to see a doctor.
A plain-language checklist for people who suspect POTS: symptoms, the published criteria, what else to rule out, and how to get measured data.
Turn a feeling into numbers.
Run the stand test at home, record the right things, and know what a clinic will add.
A step-by-step home stand test for suspected POTS: how to set up, what to measure, and how to read the result with your doctor.
The NASA 10-minute lean test explained: the protocol, why the wall helps, how to measure, and how to run it at home.
Heart rate alone cannot separate POTS from orthostatic hypotension. How to measure blood pressure during a stand test and what to record.
What heart rate numbers matter in POTS, how often Apple Watch measures them during a test, and how to graph and compare tests over time.
The diagnostic criteria for POTS from the Heart Rhythm Society, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society and the NIH, how clinics measure them, and why home numbers are a starting point.
The workup a clinician typically orders to confirm a postural heart rate rise and rule out look-alikes: stand test, ECG, labs, rhythm monitor and when tilt or autonomic testing fits.
Causes, subtypes and the conditions that travel with POTS.
What researchers know, what they suspect, and where the evidence is thin.
The mechanisms researchers describe in POTS (low blood volume, hyperadrenergic, neuropathic, autoimmune, deconditioning), the conditions linked to it, and how strong the evidence is for each.
Orthostatic intolerance explained in plain language: the umbrella term, its main types, and what each looks like on a stand test.
The umbrella term explained in plain language, and where POTS fits inside it.
How often POTS appears after COVID-19, what studies of long COVID patients found, how infection compares with vaccination, and what is still uncertain.
How POTS differs for ages 12 to 19 (a 40 bpm threshold), what outcome studies show, school and sports considerations, and what is known about pregnancy.
Treatment, in the order the guidelines build it.
Non-drug measures first, then medicines, with the trial evidence for each.
How POTS treatment is built, in order: non-drug measures, then medicines matched to your symptoms, with the guideline ratings and the honest limits of the evidence.
The evidence behind drinking more and eating more sodium for POTS, what the 10 to 12 gram advice rests on, who should be careful, and a practical way to try it.
What randomized and controlled studies show for compression garments and graded exercise training in POTS, how to start safely, and what the limits of the research are.
Propranolol, pyridostigmine, midodrine, fludrocortisone, ivabradine and others: how they work, the evidence behind each, side effects, and why none is FDA-approved for POTS.
Practical ways people manage POTS day to day: avoiding heat and dehydration, standing less, meal size, pacing, sleep position, and what the evidence does and does not support.
Want a record to bring to your visit? The POTS app guides the stand test at home and graphs your heart rate. See the app