Essay On Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

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Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, otherwise known as POTS, is an autonomic nervous system disorder that can be debilitating in severe circumstances. POTS is defined as the presence of chronic symptoms of orthostatic intolerance for at least 6 months along with a fall in blood pressure (>20/10) and increased heart rate (>30) within 10 minutes of standing from laying down.1 Symptoms of POTS include but are not limited to lightheadedness, fainting, heart palpitations, chest pain, nausea, fatigue, headache, blurry vision, breathing difficulty, irritable bowel symptoms, and loose joints.2 POTS commonly occurs in young women of child-bearing age.3 This syndrome affects up to 3 million patients in the United States; however, the prevalence …show more content…

One of the theories is that infection from a virus, such as Epstein Barr, triggers POTS. POTS is also thought to be genetic. The syndrome surfaces during pregnancy as well, due to the constant stress on a woman’s body and some POTS patients have to be bed-ridden during their entire pregnancy. Although the cause of the syndrome is unknown, the physiology of the syndrome is better understood. Thankfully, both the cause and physiology behind POTS is still being researched …show more content…

Therefore, the overall population for my paper consists of individuals diagnosed with POTS. All ages, genders, and ethnicities are included. Therefore, I am excluding people that do not have POTS and may be missing out on individuals who have been misdiagnosed. I am also excluding non-human subjects and have only been looking at articles less than 5 years old. Some of my articles have narrowed down subjects based on age or symptoms. For example, “Risk Factors for Postural Tachycardia Syndrome in Children and Adolescents” is about children and adolescents aged 7-18 years old.6 “Disturbances of Gastrointestinal Transit and Autonomic Functions in Postural Tachycardia Syndrome” is regarding patients age 18 years or older and those who are diagnosed with POTS and had an assessment of gastrointestinal transit.7 However, I believe this variety of papers containing a combination of methods will cover a whole range of ages and genders and provide the most information regarding

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