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Heart Rate Question.


suziebear

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Hi all,

I am newly diagnosed by my neurologist with POTS following a tilt table test.

I saw a cardiologist for the first time 2 days ago and she does not believe i have pots as when she did lying down to standing up blood pressure and heart rate it only slightly elevated the heart rate despite me getting symptoms.

I have tried this at home many times in the past and my heart rate was always increasing.

Tonight we have just done the lying down to standing up heart rate and blood pressure 3 seperate times over an hour and again my heart rate is only going from 66 to 78. It used to jump to around 110.

I am being put into hospital on Tuesday for 24 hour monitoring and blood work as she wants to say I don't have pots. So my question is ...

Has anyone with POTS ever had it that you can stand and not have an increase in heart rate occasionally? Or does it have to be every time?

I have been sick now for 5 years and was praying to find out what was wrong. Now I am back to thinking I have no idea again. I would really appreciate any advice anyone could share with me.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers

Susan

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The answer to your question is yes pots can be sporadic in some cases. I have had several tilt table tests I think around 8, some of them showed nothing and with others my symptoms came out dramatically(I was told after the last one I had extreme pots, what ever that means) . It seems that as I got worse the tilt table tests showed more consistently that I have pots. So if the tilt table tests can be sporadic so can the at home standing tests ( the same thing has happened to me).

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Hi all,

I am newly diagnosed by my neurologist with POTS following a tilt table test.

I saw a cardiologist for the first time 2 days ago and she does not believe i have pots as when she did lying down to standing up blood pressure and heart rate it only slightly elevated the heart rate despite me getting symptoms.

I have tried this at home many times in the past and my heart rate was always increasing.

Tonight we have just done the lying down to standing up heart rate and blood pressure 3 seperate times over an hour and again my heart rate is only going from 66 to 78. It used to jump to around 110.

I am being put into hospital on Tuesday for 24 hour monitoring and blood work as she wants to say I don't have pots. So my question is ...

Has anyone with POTS ever had it that you can stand and not have an increase in heart rate occasionally? Or does it have to be every time?

I have been sick now for 5 years and was praying to find out what was wrong. Now I am back to thinking I have no idea again. I would really appreciate any advice anyone could share with me.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers

Susan

Hi Susan!

Glad you found us, sorry you are here. There is a normal, daily variation in HR and BP. The HR increase in POTS will be far more pronounced in the morning than at night. My numbers look fairly normal at night too. You are more hydrated and your body is preparing for sleep. You are also checking it very frequently. The testing protocol states that you need to be laying down for 10-20 minutes before you take your vitals for the first time. Then stand up and take them without moving around. The first cardiologist I saw, said it couldn't be POTS because my BP didn't drop...he wasn't very POTS educated. But being hospitalized is a good step, at least your doc doesn't dismiss you as having a psychiatric problem!

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Hi Susan,

What percentage of the time would you say that your HR increases by at least 30 points when you go from laying supine for at least 20 minutes to standing? Stand still, and take your numbers at 1, 3, and 5 minutes. You should probably keep a log of your BP and HR numbers for at least a week to see if there's a pattern. Most doctors will tell you that in 'pure' POTS, your HR should go up at least 30 points, but your BP (both systolic - upper - and diastolic - lower number) will not more than 10-15 points. If you BP falls significantly when you stand up, you also probably have orthostatic hypotension. That is what I have. If you have further questions, you may personal message (PM) me if you'd like.

Cheers,

Jana

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Good Morning!

Susan I am sorry to bust in on your post but I was just wandering about something that Firewatcher said. I have been under the impression that since I dont have a high heart rate other than in the morning now (in the beginning it was different) that I must not have POTS. I do believe the endo tested me for that in April but I had no idea what they were doing then cause I hadnt yet found this site or even knew what dysautonomia was. Is a true tilt table test the only way to know for sure? This condition is so confusing and so FRUSTRATING!!!! Thanks guys....you make it bearable!

Have a great Friday!

KC

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