"[It] Wasn't Just All in My Head:" Living with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is a chronic health condition in which there is a lack of blood flow to the heart. This can cause dizziness, fatigue, and an increased heart rate (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2017). These symptoms are only a few of many that may present in patients with POTS, and each patient’s symptoms present with varying intensity. Additionally, there is no set criteria for diagnosing POTS (Olshansky, et al., 2020). Because of this, it is extremely difficult to diagnose patients with POTS and the process can take years. Patients with POTS often seek insight and care from multiple providers which often leads to confusion or no answers. Many times, patients with POTS are diagnosed via a series of procedures that must be done as they face a lifetime with the disease. The lived experiences of patients with POTS are not widely known. It is thus essential to explore this gap in the literature in order to better understand how this disease affects all aspects of a person’s life and inform future research into POTS and develop solutions. This study aims to answer the following research questions: What is the experience of someone with POTS from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis and treatment? What are the attitudes of people going through being diagnosed with POTS?