Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia

Hi, I have been using this site for almost two years, finding it while attempting to get answers regarding an onset of palpitations, dizziness, fatigue, near syncope, etc. After the usual array of tests I was told I had bileaflet mitral valve prolapse of a moderate degree and 2+ regurgitation. I am no longer fearful of every heartbeat and have learned to cope with the days of relentless skips.

I have found this site to be very helpful, reassuring, and a place I would come to almost everyday just to read the posts and know I was not alone when all this first started. Thank you to the doctors who provide insight with their knowledge, and to the many who post comments, like Hankstar,Arthur,Deb, who truly show they care and have great information to share.

I do have a question concerning the syndrome that can be associated with MVP and causes an increase in heartrate of >30 bpm upon standing known as Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome(POTS).
If diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse, does that explain the symptoms of this syndrome alone, or is it possible there could be another underlying condition that is affecting the autonomic system? Is there a greater incidence of developing a form of cardiomyopathy if a rate increase of 40-50 beats occurs within one minute upon standing on a daily basis for years?

Thanks for any answers, Take Care, NBCT

[CCF-M.D.-CRC]

Dear NBCT,
Certainly there is a lot of overlap between what doctors used to call Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) Syndrome  and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).  There are some who have even suggested that they are the same condition.  I think the trend today is not to make the diagnosis of MVP syndrome but instead look for other potential causes of the patients symptoms such as POTS. If you have never had a tilt-table study this would be a useful test to help sort out the exact cause of your symptoms.

In regard to the cardiomyopathy you can rest assured that short increase in heart rate (even over many years) will not lead to a chronic condition.  To develop tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy the heart rate must be very high consistently for a long period of time (weeks to months).

[jan]

Here are a couple of sites you might like :

http://216.149.163.247/cgi-bin/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=NDRF+General+Discussion&number=1&DaysPrune=20&LastLogin=


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mitralvalveprolapse2/

The first is very active and all about auto. dysfunction.

[NBCT]

Thanks to the MD for answering my questions, and to Jan for web sites you suggested. Take Care, NBCT

[jan]

Sorry, but NDRF is switching servers and is down for awhile. Here is a link to a site that the members  are using for the time.

http://pluto.beseen.com/boardroom/c/57374/