29 Refining the diagnostic criteria of the postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) using power spectral indices

Introduction: Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is characterised by frequent symptoms and rise in heart rate of  ≥ 30bpm within 10min of standing, in absence of significant orthostatic hypotension. Clinical evaluation of patients with suspected POTS includes detailed history and non-invasive investigations such as head-up tilt (HUT). The pathophysiology of POTS remains ill-understood, but increased symp athetic expression may cause the multitudinous symptoms. Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) variability characterise the sympathovagal balance. High frequency (HF) reflects vagal tone and low frequency (LF) and LF/HF ratio reflect sympathetic tone and sympathovagal balance. We investigated auto nomic responses of POTS patients to HUT and compare them with negative controls (NEG) and vasovagal syncope (VVS) patients.
Source: Europace - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research