Is it possible to cure postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)?
My 15-year-old granddaughter has recently been diagnosed with POTS. ANSWER: A cure for POTS doesn’t exist at this time. Fortunately, teenagers—a group commonly affected by POTS—usually grow out of the disorder by the time they reach their early 20s. In the meantime, POTS symptoms can often be effectively managed with a combination of lifestyle and dietary changes, along with medication. POTS affects the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary body functions. In POTS, the nerves that regulate blood flow are out of balance, so blood doesn’t go to the right places at the right time. The result is a variety of symptoms, including postural orthostatic tachycardia—an overly rapid heartbeat that occurs when shifting position from lying down to standing up. A person’s heart rate is usually 70 or 80 beats per minute when lying down. Normally, the heart rate rises by about 10 to 15 beats per minute upon standing. For people with POTS, the heart rate goes up considerably higher when
