People who suffer from heartburn, bloating and nausea without any clear answer are being urged to consider getting checked for a heart condition - Postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS). According to the NHS, PoTS is "when your heart rate increases very quickly after getting up from sitting or lying down, often making you feel dizzy or lightheaded."
So far, medics have not discovered a cure for the condition. However, professionals have been able to offer patients some control over the symptoms with simple lifestyle changes.
Dr Asif Ahmed spoke on his Instagram account about the "very common" complaints he sees as a GP, which could pinpoint this diagnosis. He even mentioned a string of gut problems that could be caused by the condition.
He said: "One very common group of complaints is gastrointestinal symptoms. We need to start looking abit deeper in patients that are having ongoing symptoms.
"We know PoTS can cause autonomic dysfunction, and this can slow down gut motility. This can cause bad bacteria to overgrow which can cause bloating, excess gas and make you feel sick."
He adds that you may experience feeling sick because your stomach "takes longer to empty" which is known as gastroparesis. The doctor added: "This means food can sit in your stomach for a lot longer, and this again can make you feel sick, bloated and cause heartburn and reflux."
The heart, responsible for supplying our body and vital organs with blood, struggles to keep up if you have PoTS. This slower process sometimes means your digestion system needs longer to fully complete a cycle, increasing the feeling of bloating and sickness.
Dr Ahmed said: "If you've got these ongoing symptoms but no answers - and you've got a fast heart rate - then PoTS has to be considered." More commonly, symptoms of PoTS happen when you stand up and can get better when you sit or lie down. You can use this NHS list to assess your own symptoms:
There are a few cases that present with rarer symptoms such as problems with headaches and with vision. Some people could experience 'brain fog' affecting memory and concentration or find that their hands and feet 'look purple' because the body struggles to regulate blood flow and blood pressure when standing.
PoTS can be confused with other conditions, such as low blood pressure. This happens due to having very similar symptoms and is why PoTS is often missed.
A GP will make a diagnosis following a blood pressure test and measure your heart rate before and after you stand up. It is possible you might also need to have an electrocardiogram (ECG) - a quick and painless test of the electrical activity of your heart, including its rate and rhythm.
If you are concerned about potentially having PoTS, speak with your GP. They can advise on the next steps and conduct any of these relevant tests.
