A recent study has found a connection between a difficult-to-diagnose heart condition and each COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination.
The study, published within the journal Nature Cardiovascular Research, found that COVID-19 vaccination increases the probabilities of an individual getting Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), but not greater than the chance of getting the guts ailment after COVID-19 diagnosis.
POTS is a debilitating heart condition wherein there may be an abnormal increase in heart rate when an individual stands. The study led by researchers from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, found people diagnosed with COVID-19 are five times more prone to develop POTS than after getting vaccinated.
“The primary message here is that while we see a possible link between COVID-19 vaccination and POTS, stopping COVID-19 through vaccination continues to be the perfect option to reduce your risk of developing POTS,” Alan C. Kwan, first writer of the study and a cardiovascular specialist at Cedars-Sinai, said, reported SciTechDaily.
POTS is a nervous system-related condition that’s most prevalent in young women of childbearing age. The cardinal symptom of the disorder is a rapid increase of heartrate by 30 beats per minute, inside just 10 minutes of standing.
Other symptoms include fainting, dizziness, and fatigue. Patients with severe disease might also have symptoms resembling migraine, increased urination, sweaty extremities, anxiety, and tremor.
For the study, researchers used data from almost 3,00,000 vaccinated patients treated inside the Cedars-Sinai Health System from 2020 to 2022, together with roughly 12,000 Cedars-Sinai patients with COVID-19.
“From this evaluation, we found that the chances of developing POTS are higher 90 days after vaccine exposure than the 90 days prior to exposure,” Kwan said, as per the outlet. “We also found that the relative odds of POTS were higher than can be explained by increases in visits to physicians after vaccination or infection.”
“This data identifies a possible—yet still relatively slim—association between COVID-19 vaccination and POTS,” Kwan further said.
Nonetheless, researchers emphasize the necessity to get vaccinated despite the outcomes.
Previously understudied, the pandemic has brought the POTS condition to the limelight, in response to the researchers.
“In an unexpected but necessary way, the COVID-19 pandemic brought an excellent deal of awareness to POTS—each to patients and providers,” Peng-Sheng Chen, an authority on the condition, said. “Given a broader understanding of the disease, many patients may be diagnosed more quickly permitting earlier interventions that may greatly improve their symptoms.”
While the research exhibits an ignored trend, researchers caution that more work must be done to further understand the phenomenon.
“We recognize as clinicians that negative effects from vaccines can vary in type and severity, even when still unusual overall. We hope that clearer data and improved understanding will eventually enhance medical trust and quality of care in addition to communications around vaccines,” said Kwan. “Ultimately, our goal is to optimize vaccine uptake.”