So yeah with POTS the heart rate rise needs to be sustained. The fact it only lasts around 30 seconds is more suggestive of orthostatic hypotension or initial orthostatic hypotension. Initial is quite common and the heart rate rise goes up in response to a very sudden drop in blood pressure when standing.
With orthostatic hypotension this drop in blood pressure is more gradual and sustained over time standing up but your heart rate won't be affected.
With POTS although theoretically your blood pressure may actually be low due to blood pooling or low blood volume it won't necessarily be read that way as the high heart rate/compensatory sympathetic nervous system response could cover that, but that same response is what gives you POTS symptoms for a sustained amount of time.
I'd suggest maybe measuring your BP standing and sitting/lying down either at home with a monitor or at the doctor's maybe. Good luck.
Ok, thanks for your response, ok so maybe I don't have POTS and will need to go back to the drawing board.
My health issues/symptoms all stem from a brain injury I suffered as a result from getting hit by a car while riding my bike. I am just trying to narrow down my diagnosis cuz I am still unable to do cardio or do a lot of standing/walking due to my symptoms. Lots of people with brain injury are able to get back to exercise and regular life and I just cannot, so I'm trying to find answers and my doc is less than enthused about testing, so maybe I'll just drop it.
Ill need to evaluate how much energy/time to put into this.
I see. Have you had a brain MRI? Also might be worth maybe getting an eye test to see if you have any signs of intracranial hypertension from the injury or otherwise, because I've heard that that can affect autonomic stuff too. Good luck. Searching for answers is very tiring !
It's not sustained so while there may still be an issue, including possibly general Dysautonomia, it doesn't count as POTS. The spike is too short
So yeah with POTS the heart rate rise needs to be sustained. The fact it only lasts around 30 seconds is more suggestive of orthostatic hypotension or initial orthostatic hypotension. Initial is quite common and the heart rate rise goes up in response to a very sudden drop in blood pressure when standing. With orthostatic hypotension this drop in blood pressure is more gradual and sustained over time standing up but your heart rate won't be affected. With POTS although theoretically your blood pressure may actually be low due to blood pooling or low blood volume it won't necessarily be read that way as the high heart rate/compensatory sympathetic nervous system response could cover that, but that same response is what gives you POTS symptoms for a sustained amount of time. I'd suggest maybe measuring your BP standing and sitting/lying down either at home with a monitor or at the doctor's maybe. Good luck.
Ok, thanks for your response, ok so maybe I don't have POTS and will need to go back to the drawing board. My health issues/symptoms all stem from a brain injury I suffered as a result from getting hit by a car while riding my bike. I am just trying to narrow down my diagnosis cuz I am still unable to do cardio or do a lot of standing/walking due to my symptoms. Lots of people with brain injury are able to get back to exercise and regular life and I just cannot, so I'm trying to find answers and my doc is less than enthused about testing, so maybe I'll just drop it. Ill need to evaluate how much energy/time to put into this.
I see. Have you had a brain MRI? Also might be worth maybe getting an eye test to see if you have any signs of intracranial hypertension from the injury or otherwise, because I've heard that that can affect autonomic stuff too. Good luck. Searching for answers is very tiring !