Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center recently have confirmed a link between a heart problem called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and COVID-19.
They have discovered a possible connection between POTS and COVID-19 vaccination.
POTS is a condition that affects the nervous system and typically occurs in young women of childbearing age.
Symptoms include a rapid increase in heart rate upon standing, dizziness, fatigue, fainting, and other issues.
The most identifiable POTS symptom is a rapid increase in the heartbeat of more than 30 beats per minute, or a heart rate that exceeds 120 beats per minute, within 10 minutes of standing.
The condition can be debilitating and have a big impact on a person’s quality of life.
In the study, the team used data from over 284,000 vaccinated patients and 12,000 COVID-19 patients at Cedars-Sinai between 2020 and 2022.
They found that the odds of developing POTS were higher 90 days after receiving the vaccine than before.
However, they also found that the rates of POTS after vaccination were much lower than the rates of new POTS diagnosis after COVID-19 infection.
The team emphasized that while the findings suggest a possible link between COVID-19 vaccination and POTS, the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks, and preventing COVID-19 through vaccination is still the best way to reduce the risk of developing POTS.
The study has its limitations, but the hope is that the new knowledge will help improve conversations around COVID-19 and vaccines.
The study was conducted by Alan C. Kwan et al and published in Nature Cardiovascular Research.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about new evidence on rare blood clots after COVID-19 vaccination, and results showing zinc could help reduce COVID-19 infection risk.
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