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3h ago

Large Study Finds POTS in Nearly One-Third of Severe Long COVID Patients

Researchers call for routine screening using simple tests to speed diagnosis.

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Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet show that POTS occurs in almost a third of patients with severe long COVID. Credit: Neuroscience News

Overview

  • Karolinska Institutet prospectively assessed 467 non-hospitalized, highly symptomatic long COVID patients about 12 months after infection and diagnosed POTS in 31%.
  • POTS prevalence in this selected group far exceeds pre-pandemic estimates in Sweden, which were below 1%.
  • The cohort skewed heavily female, with 91% middle-aged women who had been healthy and active before long COVID.
  • Diagnosed patients recorded higher heart rates during walking tests, shorter six-minute walk distances, and lower health-related quality of life.
  • The team advises evaluating long COVID patients with orthostatic tachycardia, dizziness, brain fog, or pronounced fatigue for POTS, and has planned four- and five-year follow-ups including hospitalized cases.