The demographic and clinical characteristics for each group are shown in Table 1. The mean age for the POTS patients was not significantly different from those with VVS and control subjects. All patients in the POTS group had documented persistent increase in heart rate >30 bpm vs. supine during head-up-tilt with reproduction of typical orthostatic intolerance symptoms. There was no significant difference in BP response during the first 3 min of head-up tilt in the POTS compared with VVS and controls and there was no significant difference in catecholamine profile supine and 3-min HUT between POTS and VVS (see Supplementary material online, Table S1). The VVS group reported a longer history of syncopal symptoms (P= 0.017), but the number of syncope episodes, proportions of characteristic precipitating symptoms, and self-reported dizziness on standing did not differ between POTS and VVS patients.
| . | POTS (n = 17) . | VVS (n = 7) . | Controls (n = 11) . | P-valuea VVS/Controls vs. POTS . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 25 ± 7 | 31 ± 9 | 31 ± 6 | 0.17/0.063 |
| Sex M/F | 2/15 | 2/5 | 1/10 | 0.55/0.98 |
| Systolic BP supine | 121 ± 14 | 123 ± 6 | 112 ± 8 | 0.95/0.92 |
| Diastolic BP supine | 71 ± 8 | 71 ± 3 | 70 ± 9 | 1.0/0.97 |
| Heart rate supine | 73 ± 10 | 73 ± 8 | 70 ± 9 | 1.0/0.63 |
| Systolic BP upright 3 min | 122 ± 14 | 125 ± 6 | 112 ± 8 | 0.78/0.069 |
| Diastolic BP upright 3 min | 80 ± 8 | 78 ± 5 | 77 ± 10 | 0.84/0.63 |
| Heart rate upright 3 min | 100 ± 14 | 82 ± 10 | 78 ± 9 | 0.004/0.0002 |
| Heart rate max upright | 111 ± 13 | 90 ± 10 | – | 0.001 |
| Duration of symptoms (years, median, interquartile range) | 3 (1–6) | 10 (2–24) | – | 0.017 |
| No. of syncope (median, interquartile range) | 4 (1–30) | 10 (3–10) | – | 0.67 |
| Autonomic symptoms (nausea, perspiration) preceding syncope (n, %) | 8 (47) | 5 (71) | – | 0.34 |
| Palpitations preceding syncope (n, %) | 4 (24) | 3 (43) | – | 0.39 |
| Orthostatic dizziness (n, %) | 13 (77) | 4 (57) | – | 0.23 |
| . | POTS (n = 17) . | VVS (n = 7) . | Controls (n = 11) . | P-valuea VVS/Controls vs. POTS . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 25 ± 7 | 31 ± 9 | 31 ± 6 | 0.17/0.063 |
| Sex M/F | 2/15 | 2/5 | 1/10 | 0.55/0.98 |
| Systolic BP supine | 121 ± 14 | 123 ± 6 | 112 ± 8 | 0.95/0.92 |
| Diastolic BP supine | 71 ± 8 | 71 ± 3 | 70 ± 9 | 1.0/0.97 |
| Heart rate supine | 73 ± 10 | 73 ± 8 | 70 ± 9 | 1.0/0.63 |
| Systolic BP upright 3 min | 122 ± 14 | 125 ± 6 | 112 ± 8 | 0.78/0.069 |
| Diastolic BP upright 3 min | 80 ± 8 | 78 ± 5 | 77 ± 10 | 0.84/0.63 |
| Heart rate upright 3 min | 100 ± 14 | 82 ± 10 | 78 ± 9 | 0.004/0.0002 |
| Heart rate max upright | 111 ± 13 | 90 ± 10 | – | 0.001 |
| Duration of symptoms (years, median, interquartile range) | 3 (1–6) | 10 (2–24) | – | 0.017 |
| No. of syncope (median, interquartile range) | 4 (1–30) | 10 (3–10) | – | 0.67 |
| Autonomic symptoms (nausea, perspiration) preceding syncope (n, %) | 8 (47) | 5 (71) | – | 0.34 |
| Palpitations preceding syncope (n, %) | 4 (24) | 3 (43) | – | 0.39 |
| Orthostatic dizziness (n, %) | 13 (77) | 4 (57) | – | 0.23 |
BP, blood pressure.
aOne-way ANOVA plus Tukey post hoc adjustment (for continuous variables) and Pearson's χ2 test (for categorical variables) were applied.
| . | POTS (n = 17) . | VVS (n = 7) . | Controls (n = 11) . | P-valuea VVS/Controls vs. POTS . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 25 ± 7 | 31 ± 9 | 31 ± 6 | 0.17/0.063 |
| Sex M/F | 2/15 | 2/5 | 1/10 | 0.55/0.98 |
| Systolic BP supine | 121 ± 14 | 123 ± 6 | 112 ± 8 | 0.95/0.92 |
| Diastolic BP supine | 71 ± 8 | 71 ± 3 | 70 ± 9 | 1.0/0.97 |
| Heart rate supine | 73 ± 10 | 73 ± 8 | 70 ± 9 | 1.0/0.63 |
| Systolic BP upright 3 min | 122 ± 14 | 125 ± 6 | 112 ± 8 | 0.78/0.069 |
| Diastolic BP upright 3 min | 80 ± 8 | 78 ± 5 | 77 ± 10 | 0.84/0.63 |
| Heart rate upright 3 min | 100 ± 14 | 82 ± 10 | 78 ± 9 | 0.004/0.0002 |
| Heart rate max upright | 111 ± 13 | 90 ± 10 | – | 0.001 |
| Duration of symptoms (years, median, interquartile range) | 3 (1–6) | 10 (2–24) | – | 0.017 |
| No. of syncope (median, interquartile range) | 4 (1–30) | 10 (3–10) | – | 0.67 |
| Autonomic symptoms (nausea, perspiration) preceding syncope (n, %) | 8 (47) | 5 (71) | – | 0.34 |
| Palpitations preceding syncope (n, %) | 4 (24) | 3 (43) | – | 0.39 |
| Orthostatic dizziness (n, %) | 13 (77) | 4 (57) | – | 0.23 |
| . | POTS (n = 17) . | VVS (n = 7) . | Controls (n = 11) . | P-valuea VVS/Controls vs. POTS . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 25 ± 7 | 31 ± 9 | 31 ± 6 | 0.17/0.063 |
| Sex M/F | 2/15 | 2/5 | 1/10 | 0.55/0.98 |
| Systolic BP supine | 121 ± 14 | 123 ± 6 | 112 ± 8 | 0.95/0.92 |
| Diastolic BP supine | 71 ± 8 | 71 ± 3 | 70 ± 9 | 1.0/0.97 |
| Heart rate supine | 73 ± 10 | 73 ± 8 | 70 ± 9 | 1.0/0.63 |
| Systolic BP upright 3 min | 122 ± 14 | 125 ± 6 | 112 ± 8 | 0.78/0.069 |
| Diastolic BP upright 3 min | 80 ± 8 | 78 ± 5 | 77 ± 10 | 0.84/0.63 |
| Heart rate upright 3 min | 100 ± 14 | 82 ± 10 | 78 ± 9 | 0.004/0.0002 |
| Heart rate max upright | 111 ± 13 | 90 ± 10 | – | 0.001 |
| Duration of symptoms (years, median, interquartile range) | 3 (1–6) | 10 (2–24) | – | 0.017 |
| No. of syncope (median, interquartile range) | 4 (1–30) | 10 (3–10) | – | 0.67 |
| Autonomic symptoms (nausea, perspiration) preceding syncope (n, %) | 8 (47) | 5 (71) | – | 0.34 |
| Palpitations preceding syncope (n, %) | 4 (24) | 3 (43) | – | 0.39 |
| Orthostatic dizziness (n, %) | 13 (77) | 4 (57) | – | 0.23 |
BP, blood pressure.
aOne-way ANOVA plus Tukey post hoc adjustment (for continuous variables) and Pearson's χ2 test (for categorical variables) were applied.
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