14 year old daughter

[erinlia]

I did an at home nasa lean test with my daughter today because I've been wondering if she may have a lowish level of POTS.  laying down her numbers were 110/ 61, heart rate 62.  and 123/62 h.r. 60.  Then standing for ten mins these were her numbers:

119/63 71

91/78 77

98/52 93

114/69 85

89/70 46

109/70 88

at this point she was pale and sweating and a little nauseous and unwilling to stand any longer.  What do you think of these numbers?   i'm concerned about constant fatigue she complains about.  

[Pistol]

@erinlia Looks like her BP is dropping, which is not POTS. Many teenage girls seem to have this problem. Does she have a pediatrician she can see, or a PCP? Also - please remind her that drinking is very important. My daughter at that age ( she is 19 now ) passed out a few times but she had extreme tachycardia during those times. By drinking a lot all day long she has been able to avoid episodes but I have to remind her sometimes. 

[erinlia]

Ok, interesting.  I would love it if she was not developing POTS.  Does standing never cause low blood pressure with POTS?  

[Pistol]

@erinlia If standing causes low BP it is called orthostatic hypotension, also considered an autonomic dysfunction. Neuro-cardiogenic syncope ( also called vaso-vagal syncope ) can cause this. I have HPOTS and NCS. With NCS my HR ( during TTT ) goes up briefly and then plummets, a long with the BP, causing syncope. 

POTS, on the other hand, causes an increase in HR of at least 30 BPM ( I think its more for kids ) WITHOUT a significant drop in BP within ten minutes of standing, and the increase has to be sustained. 

What is most effective in all of these scenarios are the usual self-help treatments like increasing fluid and salt intake and wearing compression garments ( but this is almost impossible with kids ). I would like to add that the fatigue you mentioned your daughter experiences could be caused by her body constantly trying to provide adequate blood flow to the brain if her BP drops like that often. Moderate exercise regularly and avoiding standing for long periods of time has helped my daughter. 

 

[erinlia]

So what is going on in the body with NCS that differs from POTS?  

[Pistol]

 

Here is some info from our information resources link. In my case the NCS is caused by a sudden drop in HR and BP. The HPOTS presents with an INCREASE in both HR and BP. ( note: POTS not of the hyperadrenergic type usually does not have a noticeable change in BP ).Both of these are considered dysautonomias. NCS causes syncope and pre-syncope, POTS not always causes syncope. Both can present with dizziness, brain fog, fatigue etc from loss of cerebral circulation.