What Is PoTS?

Postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) is an abnormal increase in heart rate that occurs after sitting up or standing. Some typical symptoms include dizziness and fainting.

​

Normally when you sit up or stand, gravity pulls some of your blood down to your belly area, hands and feet.

In response, your blood vessels quickly narrow and your heart rate increases slightly to maintain blood flow to the heart and brain, and prevent blood pressure dropping.

This is all done without needing to think about it, by the autonomic nervous system – the nervous system in charge of automatic body functions.

In PoTS, the autonomic nervous system does not work properly.

There's a drop in blood supply to the heart and brain when you become upright and the heart races to compensate for this.