Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or “POTS,” is a condition that affects the autonomic nervous system. It causes a variety of symptoms, and affects between 1-3 million Americans. Symptoms can range from mild to severe, often affecting daily life.
POTS causes damage to the nervous system by making the blood vessels unable to regulate pressure. This can often occur as a result of a traumatic injury. People with POTS may feel faint after sitting for long periods. They may also find that they cannot sit up from a lying position without getting flush. Their heart rate increases because their circulatory system cannot bring sufficient blood volume to their brain.
In some cases, POTS sufferers will experience fainting spells or sudden losses of consciousness, sometimes with nausea and vomiting. POTS may also cause discoloration in the legs, as well as difficulty eating and focusing. It is a devastating condition—and one that DeShaw Law has encountered in many clients over the years.
POTS sufferers may struggle when pursuing a personal injury claim. Their symptoms may present at random times, and thus be difficult to prove. Always hire an experienced lawyer who understands how this condition can impact a person’s life.
Speak to a Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Lawyer today: (503) 227-1233.
Key Symptoms of POTS
Symptoms of POTS primarily include cardiovascular symptoms, neurological issues and gastrointestinal disruptions. Other symptoms may include fatigue, changes in skin color, mood and sleep. Because these symptoms can vary from person to person, you should always consult your doctor if you believe you have POTS. They will check your blood pressure and heart rate as you lie flat, sit and stand. They may conduct a tilt table test to determine the cause of your symptoms.
Cardiovascular Symptoms
Sufferers of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome may experience tachycardia, or increased heart rate, especially when standing. Patients may feel forceful or irregular heartbeats, often described as pounding or skipping beats. This may accompany chest pain, which can worsen when upright. Finally, it is not uncommon to feel faint, particularly upon standing.
Neurological Symptoms
POTS symptoms often include a neurological element, as well. This includes “brain fog,” or difficulty concentrating, thinking, or remembering. Sufferers may also experience migraines and headaches, particularly orthostatic headaches when standing, accompanied with tunnel vision. Both of these symptoms may also accompany a feeling of internal trembling, even or visible shaking.
Gastrointestinal Symptoms
Gastrointestinal issues—nausea, vomiting, and digestive issues—are not uncommon in POTS sufferers. Digestive issues like bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain are common and often mistaken for irritable bowel syndrome.
Fatigue and Exercise Intolerance
In perhaps the most frustrating symptom, POTS sufferers can experience profound bouts of fatigue. These persistent feelings of exhaustion that can limit daily activities and hinder intimate relationships. The aforementioned cardiovascular and neurological issues may make it difficult to perform physical activities without worsening these symptoms. Exercise recovery may take hours or even days.
Other Symptoms
In addition to the conditions mentioned above, POTS sufferers may also experience excessive sweating or feeling unusually warm. They may also feel short of breath and experience sleep disturbances, including immediate fatigue when waking. Some POTS sufferers may notice an occasional purplish discoloration in their hands and feet. (Blood flow can pool in one’s extremities without sufficient circulation.)
“Why do my hands and feet turn purple?”
Discoloration of the extremities, also known as acrocyanosis, is caused by blood pooling in the limbs when upright. Wearing compression socks can temporarily alleviate this symptom, but you should always see a doctor if this symptom persists. It can be a sign of POTS, Raynaud’s syndrome, blood disorders, and other serious conditions.
Factors That Worsen Symptoms of POTS
Living with POTS is a reality for millions of Americans. In managing POTS symptoms, it is important to be aware of the conditions that can intensify discomfort. These include:
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Prolonged standing or rapid positional changes. This can tax the body’s autonomic nervous system and trigger cardiovascular and neurological symptoms.
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Dehydration or inadequate fluid/salt intake. This reduces blood volume, lowers blood pressure, and thus reduces the amount of blood and oxygen reaching the brain
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Warm environments such as hot showers or sunny weather, which cause blood vessels to widen and increase heart rate.
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Menstrual cycles in women. Symptoms can worsen during the premenstrual phase right before one’s period, when estrogen and progesterone are dropping.
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High-carb meals, which divert a significant amount of blood to the digestive tract. This can drop in blood pressure and exacerbating POTS symptoms.
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Viral illnesses and infections, including COVID-19, that affect cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
The Daily Impact of Living with POTS
The severity of POTS symptoms varies widely. Some individuals may have mild discomfort; others may find it challenging to simply remain upright. POTS can significantly affect work, relationships, school, and social activities. Through lifestyle adjustments, hydration strategies, medications, and physical therapy, most symptoms can be managed.
Despite its physical origins, POTS is sometimes misdiagnosed as anxiety due to overlapping symptoms like palpitations and dizziness. If your POTS symptoms began after a traumatic injury, you may be entitled to compensation.
Call our Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Lawyers to discuss your case: (503) 227-1233.
Personality Testing and POTS Cases
Insurance companies and defense lawyers will attempt to discredit you through a battery of psychological and personality tests. In most cases they are looking for scores that they will say demonstrates you are lying or have an alternative cause for your symptoms such as depression or anxiety.
Honest answers about the symptoms of POTS will make personality testing, such as the MMPI look abnormal. The MMPI scores are often misinterpreted as a personality disorder because of high scale scores. This occurs because POTS causes symptoms in the brain, nervous system, gasterointestinal system and circulatory system. When a patient answers questions about these systems honestly, it increases MMPI psychological scale scores.
Through psychological testing, the defense hopes to make your look like a liar or crazy. Unless you have a lawyer ready to counter that attack you will very likely to lose your trial for this devastating condition.
How does the defense use personality testing against injured people? It may include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and a struggle to maintain close relationships. The defense may try to exploit these side effects to imply that you are exaggerating your symptoms.
If you have POTS and have taken a personality test as part of a legal case against the person responsible, there is still hope. Our team will look at the questions behind the test scores, and show evidence that lends credibility to both you and your answers.
Without experienced legal expertise, you could easily lose a POTS litigation case if a personality test comes into play. If you developed POTS after a traumatic injury, call our office for a free case evaluation: (503) 227-1233.
An Important Note About POTS and Covid-19
While Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome was very rare prior to COVID-19, the diagnosis of POTS has soared to over one million people being diagnosed with POTS as a result of "long COVID."
It is important to note that since someone must be negligent in causing POTS for there to be a viable legal claim, our POTS lawyers can only accept cases in which someone was at fault for causing POTS, such as in cases of trauma caused by another person or company such as in a truck crash, auto crash, explosion, or other incident.
As lawyers, we do not provide medical treatment or advice so please consult with a POTS specialist in your area for appropriate diagnostic testing for POTS such as the tilt table test, and treatment recommendations.