Again in 2014, Hailey Hudson was a wholesome, energetic 16-year-old. She labored out a number of days per week and performed aggressive softball. Regardless of having Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), which induced her to have hypermobility in her joints, “I used to be in one of the best form of my life,” she tells SELF.

Round that point, Hudson underwent surgical procedure for her situation. Her first observe again after the operation, issues felt…off. “I used to be working the bases and could not breathe. It felt like my throat was closing up. I used to be dizzy and had spots in my imaginative and prescient,” she recollects. Because the season went on, issues bought extra intense. She continued feeling dizzy at observe but in addition developed debilitating fatigue as soon as she bought residence.

Hudson was misdiagnosed with anemia, bronchial asthma, generalized power fatigue, fibromyalgia, and nervousness earlier than studying what was really occurring: She had postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS)—a blood circulation dysfunction that impacts your coronary heart fee if you change positions (like going from sitting to standing). It might probably occur to anybody, however is far more widespread in girls between 15 and 50.

POTS isn’t uncommon—about 1 to three million individuals within the US had it in 2019—and it appears to be on the rise, though precise numbers are exhausting to come back by. The trigger is unknown, however it could occur all of a sudden after a significant well being occasion, like surgical procedure (as in Hudson’s case), being pregnant, puberty, or a bacterial or viral an infection. That final one is a biggie provided that analysis suggests some individuals can develop POTS after COVID, and an estimated 186 million individuals within the US have been contaminated with SARS-CoV-2.

“Now we have seen an enormous uptick in individuals with this dysfunction, principally girls,” Robert Wilson, DO, a neurologist who leads the Cleveland Clinic’s POTS division, tells SELF.

It may be debilitating, and it has no treatment, though a combo of life-style modifications and drugs might help. However all too usually, well being care professionals mistake the signs for different points. Right here’s all the pieces it’s essential learn about POTS, together with tips on how to spot its signs and when to hunt assist.

What’s POTS?

POTS is an acronym that stands for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. It messes together with your arteries’ skill to contract correctly, which is named vascular tone. Consequently, “these individuals actually can’t preserve blood stream,” Dr. Wilson notes. Nikki Bart, MD, PhD, a heart specialist at St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, tells SELF that POTS can interrupt some bodily capabilities you’ll be able to’t management, like your coronary heart fee, blood stress, and physique temp.

Usually if you rise up, gravity pulls the blood right down to your legs, Dr. Bart explains, and your nervous system senses and corrects for that by getting your blood pumping as much as your head. However when you’ve got POTS, that doesn’t occur. “You would possibly get this pool of blood in your legs and never sufficient blood to your mind, so you are feeling lightheaded, dizzy, or have palpitations,” she notes.

What are the signs of POTS?

This situation can manifest in delicate methods and masquerade as different circumstances. For Hudson, it took six years after her first signs appeared earlier than she was accurately recognized. Listed below are some issues that docs see:

Fainting or dizziness, particularly when standing up or staying in a single place for some time

As a result of your physique has a tough time transferring blood round, if you preserve a sure posture for too lengthy or change issues up all of a sudden, you would possibly really feel tremendous dizzy or such as you’re about to faint. Usually, this sense will go away when you lie down.

Sleep issues

Dr. Wilson says that individuals with POTS steadily have points with their sleep. The extended horizontal posture generally is a drawback, and it could result in insomnia, sleep disturbances, and daytime sleepiness because of this.

Fatigue and mind fog

In case you have POTS, you could not get dizzy or faint, however you probably will really feel bodily and mentally depleted, Dr. Wilson explains. “Fatigue has at all times been my worst symptom,” Hudson explains. “It impacts my each day functioning in so some ways. I battle to drive and stroll by means of shops or down the road.” Sadly, Dr. Wilson says this symptom is commonly missed by well being care suppliers. “In case you wait for somebody to faint, you are going to miss [the diagnosis].” You may also have issues processing information generally—a.okay.a. mind fog. “These individuals usually have a mass discount of their work manufacturing. You see a extreme affect on their each day perform,” Dr. Wilson notes.

A racing coronary heart or shortness of breath

In case your blood swimming pools in your decrease extremities and might’t work its method again up shortly if you stand, your coronary heart (rightfully so!) freaks out a bit and works additional exhausting to get some circulation to your mind. This can lead to a coronary heart fee enhance of greater than 30 beats per minute (bpm), or a complete coronary heart fee exceeding 120 bpm inside 10 minutes of standing up, per the Nationwide Institutes of Well being (NIH). (That’s the tachycardia half, which primarily signifies that your coronary heart is thrashing method too quick.) Palpitations may occur after you lie down, and you may also really feel a way of breathlessness. A racing coronary heart may occur at evening, which may contribute to your sleep troubles.

Feeling anxious

Dr. Wilson factors out that POTS is steadily misdiagnosed as nervousness. That’s as a result of when you’ve got a racing heartbeat that’s paired with fatigue, you change into what he calls “wired and drained.” “You are feeling like you’ve got the flu, but in addition such as you’re over-caffeinated. Your blood stress is dropping, then the physique overcompensates to repair that,” he says. These signs can mimic these of hysteria, particularly if a physician can’t decide every other causes.