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Head-down tilt reduces the heart rate in postural tachycardia syndrome in acute setting: a pilot study

D

Donsboig

Messages
65
Location
UK
I haven't tried this but being a bit close to upside down e.g. tying shoelaces can feel a bit uncomfortable. Maybe I'll give it a try on the sofa. (I have pots)

Does anyone have a copy of the full paper they could share?
 
R

Rrrr

Senior Member
Messages
1,591
Donsboig said:
I haven't tried this but being a bit close to upside down e.g. tying shoelaces can feel a bit uncomfortable. Maybe I'll give it a try on the sofa. (I have pots)

Does anyone have a copy of the full paper they could share?
Click to expand...
Actually, for this study I believe the patient was positioned in a negative tilt. That is, their head would not be close to their shoelaces, but rather their head would be in the opposite direction. And I believe their neck would not be strained, but it would be straight, as seen in the images of this inversion table I saw on Amazon (I'm not connected to this company). https://www.amazon.com/Innova-ITX9600-Inversion-Adjustable-Protective/dp/B003QCI4GG
 
R

Rrrr

Senior Member
Messages
1,591
I do see that there are things that can go wrong with an inversion table. I just googled it and found things like increased blood pressure, more pressure to the eyes, can worsen vertigo, and more. I may hold off on doing this for now.
 
K

kushami

Messages
36
I couldn’t tell from the abstract how long they tilted people for. It talks about something happening in the second minute of the test, so maybe they only tilted them briefly. And it also doesn’t say whether the drop in heart rate persisted once they were returned to supine or when they got up.

I wish I could read the whole article, but as I don’t have POTS, it’s not worth my paying to read it. (I’ve got OCHOS and sometimes lie on my back with my head below my heart for a minute or two when my cerebral blood flow feels particularly low. It helps a bit but that quickly wears off when I sit up again. I just do it by acrobatics on my couch, no inversion table.)
 
K

kushami

Messages
36
I just had a thought: if you already have your bedhead raised, you could try lying the other way round for a short time and see whether that helps your heart rate.
 
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