POTSDo I Have POTS? What to Check Before You 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.
Nobody can answer this online
No website or app can tell you whether you have POTS. A clinician can, after an exam, a measured stand or tilt test, and tests for other causes (HRS 2015). You can walk in prepared, and that often changes how the visit goes.
What clinicians look for
The published definition has four parts (Freeman 2011, CCS 2020, HRS 2015).
A sustained rise of at least 30 bpm within 10 minutes of standing in adults, at least 40 for ages 12 to 19.
Below the 30 bpm line.
Questions worth asking yourself
- Does your heart rate jump when you stand, and settle when you lie back down?
- Do symptoms ease when you sit or lie down?
- Do heat, long showers, big meals or standing in line make it worse?
- Have symptoms lasted at least 3 months?
- Did your doctor already check for anemia, thyroid disease and dehydration?
Yes answers do not diagnose POTS. They tell you what to raise at the appointment.
Get measured data before the visit
Follow the home stand test guide and repeat the test on different days under similar conditions. One day can mislead you in either direction.
Day 3 alone shows a rise of 12 bpm. Tap other days, or view all six.
What to bring
- Dates and times of each test, resting and standing heart rates, blood pressure if you have it.
- The stance used (wall lean or free standing) and the symptoms you felt.
- Medicines, caffeine and fluid intake on test days.
The visit checklist lists them, and the POTS app can collect them during each test.
If someone called it anxiety
Anxiety and POTS can occur together. A stand test measures something anxiety does not explain by itself: a sustained, repeatable heart rate rise tied to posture. Measured numbers move the conversation from impressions to data. Interpretation stays with your clinician.
This page informs and does not diagnose. Only a clinician who can examine you and see your whole history can interpret your numbers.
- Freeman R, Wieling W, Axelrod FB, et al. Consensus statement on the definition of orthostatic hypotension, neurally mediated syncope and the postural tachycardia syndrome. Autonomic Neuroscience. 2011;161(1-2):46-48.
- Raj SR, Guzman JC, Harvey P, et al. Canadian Cardiovascular Society position statement on postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and related disorders of chronic orthostatic intolerance. Canadian Journal of Cardiology. 2020;36(3):357-372.
- Sheldon RS, Grubb BP, Olshansky B, et al. 2015 Heart Rhythm Society expert consensus statement on the diagnosis and treatment of postural tachycardia syndrome, inappropriate sinus tachycardia, and vasovagal syncope. Heart Rhythm. 2015;12(6):e41-e63.
- What Is POTS? A Plain-Language Explanation
- How to Test for POTS at Home: The 10-Minute Stand Test
- POTS Symptoms: The Common Ones and What They Mean
- How POTS Is Diagnosed: Criteria, Stand Test and Tilt Table
- NASA Lean Test for POTS: How to Do It at Home
- Tests to Ask For When You Suspect POTS
- Why Does My Heart Race When I Stand Up?
- POTS Heart Rate: How to Graph It with Apple Watch
- Orthostatic Intolerance: Types and How POTS Fits In
- Why Blood Pressure Matters in a POTS Stand Test
- What Is Dysautonomia, and How Does It Relate to POTS?
- What Causes POTS? Subtypes, Triggers and What the Evidence Shows
- POTS and Long COVID: What the Research Shows
- POTS in Teens, Young Adults and During Pregnancy
- POTS Treatment Overview: What Guidelines Recommend First
- Fluids and Salt for POTS: What the Trials Show
- Compression and Exercise for POTS: Two First-Line Treatments
- POTS Medications: What Each One Does and What the Trials Show
- Living With POTS: Triggers, Pacing, Heat, Meals and Sleep
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