Hip
Senior Member
- Messages
- 17,898
I've heard doctors mention dysautonomia before, but is there any test for that? It doesn't seem like it.
Three types of dysautonomia which involve feelings that you are going to faint are:
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)
Neurally mediated hypotension (NMH) — also called neurally mediated syncope, or neurocardiogenic syncope
Orthostatic hypotension (OH)
The symptoms of POTS include: postural tachycardia (increased heart rate on standing), headache, abdominal discomfort, dizziness, feeling faint, nausea, fatigue, lightheadedness, sweating, tremor, anxiety, palpitations, exercise intolerance.
Symptoms of OH or NMH include: dizziness or light-headedness, feeling that you are going to faint, blurred vision, confusion, weakness, fatigue, nausea. These symptoms appear within a few seconds or minutes of standing up after you've been sitting or lying down, and will disappear if you sit or lie down for a few minutes.
POTS is a condition where your heart rate goes up by 30 or more on standing from a lying down position. If you have this, then you are diagnosed with POTS. Very simple.
OH and NMH are conditions in which your blood pressure drops upon standing. In OH the pressure drop is usually immediate; in NMH the drop occurs after a long period of time standing, or also sometimes after having an unpleasant or upsetting experience.
Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is diagnosed when, on standing from a sitting or lying position, there is a fall in systolic blood pressure of 20 mm Hg or more, and/or a fall in diastolic blood pressure of 10 mm Hg or more within 5 minutes from standing. In some people with OH, the drop in blood pressure can take up to 10 minutes to appear (this is called delayed orthostatic hypotension).
These blood pressure measurements can be made with an ordinary home blood pressure meter. Note that a blood pressure reading is expressed as systolic / diastolic, for example: 120 / 80.
The above copied from my roadmap of chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) viral tests and treatments.
Last edited: