The IAA One Minute Blog

Nick Foles’s wife, Tori Foles has a little known disorder called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome otherwise known as POTS.

What is POTS?

POTS is a form of dysautonomia, which is estimated to impact between 1,000,000 and 3,000,000 Americans and millions more worldwide.

POTS is a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system, which controls the involuntary functions of the body, such as:

• Blinking
• Blood pressure
• Breathing
• Digestion
• Heart rate
• Urination

Your blood usually flows at a steady rate, whether you’re sitting, standing or lying down.  If that rate changes when you change positions, that’s a condition called orthostatic intolerance or OI. When you have POTS, most of your blood stays in the lower part of your body when you stand up. This makes your heart beat faster to try and get to your brain.

The diagnostic criterion for POTS is: A heart rate of 30 beats per minutes (BPM) or more, or over 120 BPM within the first 10 minutes of standing.

In a survey of 4,178 diagnosed POTS patients, more than 75 percent were told their symptoms were psychological; one-fourth said they were treated for a mental disorder before they got an accurate diagnosis.

Women between 15 and 50 years old are most likely to have POTS.

Researchers are investigating a possible connection between POTS and autoimmune markers, genetic markers, hormones such as norepinephrine, and mast cell activation—a sort of allergic response. 

Signs and Symptoms

POTS usually presents with symptoms much more complex than a simple increase in heart rate. It is common for POTS patients to have a drop in blood pressure when standing up, but some POTS patients have no change in blood pressure or even an increase upon standing. POTS patients often have low blood volume and high levels of plasma norepinephrine while standing.  Many POTS patient also experience:

• Chest pain or shortness of breath
• Coldness or pain in the extremities
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Diminished concentration
• Exercise intolerance
• Fainting
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Heart palpitations
• Insomnia
• Lightheadedness
• Nausea
• Reddish, purple color in the legs upon standing, believed to be caused by blood pooling or poor circulation. The color change subsides upon returning to a reclined position.
• Shaking

You may also have POTS symptoms after you eat because your intestines need more blood flow for digestion.

While some of the physical symptoms of POTS overlap with the symptoms of anxiety, such as tachycardia and palpitations, POTS is not caused by anxiety.

What IAA has to Say

When a celebrity speaks out on their or their loved one’s personal diagnosis and/or disorder, it allows for a better understanding of certain health conditions. Insurance Administrator of America wants you to have this information on certain diseases and conditions through these blog posts. Remember, with IAA one call does it all.

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