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OI vs POTS

A young woman standing in a doorway, bracing herself against the door frame with one hand while covering her eyes with the other, suggesting dizziness or lightheadedness upon standing.

Orthostatic intolerance (OI) is when someone isn’t able to regulate their blood pressure and heart rate well when standing. Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a specific type of OI characterized by a rapid increase in heart rate within minutes of standing, usually with blood pressure remaining relatively stable.

OI is a component of diagnosing ME/CFS when using both the Institute of Medicine criteria and the Canadian Consensus Criteria. In addition, POTS is a commonly occurring comorbid condition in people living with ME/CFS. Therefore, research on ME/CFS typically incorporates OI and POTS in inclusion/exclusion criteria and may measure them specifically as part of the study or evaluate them during data analysis.

OMF’s Melbourne ME/CFS Collaboration published a systematic review of OI and cerebral blood flow in ME/CFS. Read the article in Springer Nature.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME / CFS) Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), Fibromyalgia Leading Research. Delivering Hope.Open Medicine Foundation®

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