Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
POTS stands for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.
“Postural” and “orthostatic” refer to changes in body position, usually moving from lying or sitting to standing. “Tachycardia” means a fast heart rate.
“Symptom cluster” or “syndrome” means it shows up differently in different people.
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POTS is a complex, multifactorial dysautonomic disorder that affects the body’s ability to regulate automatic functions, especially heart rate, blood pressure, and blood flow.
The term “dysautonomia” simply means that the autonomic nervous system (the system that runs things you don’t consciously control) isn’t working smoothly.
At its core, POTS is a condition where the body struggles to move blood efficiently against gravity, especially when standing up.
Because of this, signals are relayed to the heart to start beating faster in order to get blood flow returned and re-oxygenated to be redistributed once again. In POTS patients, the heart often races, blood flow to the brain becomes unstable, and a wide range of symptoms can appear.
POTS is often misdiagnosed because its symptoms overlap with many other conditions. People may be told they have:
anxiety or panic attacks, generalised tachycardia, dehydration, stress‑related symptoms or “normal” dizziness or fatigue
In many cases, individuals receive a diagnosis of fast heart rate without a clear explanation of why it’s happening or how it connects to posture and blood flow.
Awareness among clinicians is improving, but many people still spend years searching for answers.
Why BioPaws is Studying POTS Detection
Dogs are trained to identify scent patterns linked to POTS, providing clinicians and patients with additional information on this complex disorder. BioPaws Detection dogs are trained to screen samples in a quick and efficient manner, to help reduce uncertainty of long diagnostic delays. In addition, the power of BioPaws Detection dogs will help support people whose symptoms fluctuate or are hard to capture in a clinical setting, making early investigation more accessible. Our goal is to understand whether dogs can detect consistent, measurable odour changes associated with POTS episodes — and how this knowledge might support future research and care. Based on reported behaviours in the medical context, it is possible that dogs may be able to support faster, less invasive diagnosis than the options currently available. If successful, BioPaws Detection dogs will make the process of POTS diagnosis more accessible and less stressful.
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How POTS Affects the Body
When most people stand up, the blood briefly drops toward the legs, blood vessels tighten to push it back upward, the heart rate rises slightly, blood flow to the brain stays steady.
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In POTS, this system doesn’t respond properly. Three things often happen:
1. Blood pools in the lower body. Blood vessels don’t tighten enough, so blood stays in the legs instead of returning to the heart.
2. The heart races to compensate. Because less blood returns to the heart, it beats much faster to keep blood flowing to the brain.
3. The brain receives less steady blood flow. This can cause dizziness, blurred vision, brain fog, or fainting.
People with POTS may experience: dizziness or feeling faint, rapid heartbeat, extreme fatigue, “brain fog” or difficulty concentrating
nausea, shakiness or weakness, temperature dysregulation and exercise intolerance.
Symptoms often worsen when standing, heat exposure, dehydration, or after illness. POTS isn’t caused by one single issue, this is why no two people with POTS look the same, and why symptoms can vary from day to day.
Diagnosis of POTS
POTS is often misdiagnosed because its symptoms overlap with many other conditions.
People may be told they have anxiety or panic attacks, generalised tachycardia, dehydration, stress‑related symptoms or “normal” dizziness due to fatigue.
In many cases, individuals receive a diagnosis of fast heart rate without a clear explanation of why it’s happening or how it connects to posture and blood flow.
Awareness among clinicians is improving, but many people still spend years searching for answers.
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What We Know About Dogs and Medical Alerts
Medical Alert Assistance Dogs have shown they can reliably notice changes in a person’s physiology before symptoms become obvious.
These dogs respond to shifts in heart rate, blood pressure, adrenaline, temperature regulation, blood flow and scent‑based biochemical markers.
Handlers often report that their dog alerts them before they feel faint, shaky, or unwell.
This lived experience is an important clue, and it’s one of the reasons BioPaws Detection is exploring scent detection in a structured, scientific way.
