What is known, though, is that there is a backlog of patients waiting to be seen, Chung says. Experts say a small slice of people with long-haul COVID-19 have symptoms of dysautonomia, though its prevalence is unknown. found about 13% of people who had COVID-19 continued to have symptoms three months after their initial infection. But the COVID-19 pandemic has brought new attention and many new diagnosed cases.Ībsolute numbers of long-haulers aren't known, but a recent survey in the U.K. most commonly women, young adults and adolescents. The syndrome is estimated to affect about 1 million to 3 million people in the U.S. Tae Chung, a POTS specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. "There's been a lack of awareness" of the condition, even within the medical community, says Dr. That's the part of the nervous system that works automatically to regulate body functions such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and digestion.ĭon't be surprised if you've never heard of POTS. POTS is a type of dysautonomia, which stems from dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system. They explained to her that an issue with her nervous system was causing her heart to race, usually upon standing - a signature feature of the syndrome - and the circulatory problems. The doctors told Minhas that they had begun to see other patients after COVID-19 who had developed similar symptoms. But for a subset of people with what's known as "long COVID" - mostly women such as Minhas - a POTS diagnosis offers a road map to treatment options and relief from their often-debilitating symptoms. "It was disconcerting," Minhas says, and "lingering way too long without a proper answer." But she persevered, determined to "dig in and look for answers."Īnd months later, in late 2020, a breakthrough: A group of cardiologists at the University of California, San Diego helped lead her to a diagnosis of a mercurial and little-known condition: postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, a blood circulation disorder.Ī growing number of people are facing mountains of frustration over health problems that linger after COVID-19 with no clear path to improvement. At first, her primary care doctor thought it was anxiety. Yet doctors could not explain what was wrong. I used to play tennis and go to the gym," she says. Her symptoms became so severe that she stopped working. Coronavirus Updates People With Severe COVID-19 Have Higher Risk Of Long-Term Effects, Study Finds
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