| Title | Sympathovagal balance analysis in idiopathic postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. | ||
| Author | Russo, Vincenzo; De Crescenzo, Ilaria; Ammendola, Ernesto; Santangelo, Lucio; Calabro, Raffaele | ||
| Journal | Acta Biomed | Publication Year/Month | 2007-Aug |
| PMID | 17933281 | PMCID | -N/A- |
| Affiliation | 1.Second University of Naples, Monaldi Hospital, Naples, Italy. v.p.russo@libero.it. | ||
The idiopathic postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a complex disorder characterized by chronic orthostatic symptoms and an increase in heart rate within 10 minutes of standing on upright posture, without significant orthostatic hypotension. We describe a case of a 36 year-old patient with POTS, diagnosed by head-up tilt testing. Power spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV), performed during the tilt test, revealed the ratio of low and high frequency powers (LF/HF) that increased with the onset of orthostatic intolerance. The increase in LF/HF power ratio may represent sympathetic beta-receptors hyperactivity. Atenolol alleviated his clinical symptoms.