September 30, 2026
Sleep Apnea, Hiding in Plain Sight
Sleep apnea is a breathing problem you sleep right through, and 9 in 10 at risk go undiagnosed. Why it hides, how it differs in women, and what helps.
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Your heart rate spikes the moment you stand, your blood pressure doesn't drop, and for years it gets called anxiety. Here's the measurable condition underneath.
A heart that takes off the second you stand up gets explained away fast. You're anxious. You're dehydrated. You're out of shape. Sometimes that's true. Often it's a condition with a name and a number behind it: POTS. And the reason it takes years to get there says more about the system than about you.
POTS stands for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Standing is the trigger, a racing heart is the sign, and most people who have it spend years being told it's in their head. Here's what's going on underneath.
Stand up, and gravity pulls a chunk of your blood down into your legs and belly. A healthy autonomic nervous system, the part that runs the things you don't think about, tightens your vessels and adjusts your heart rate to keep blood moving up to your brain. In POTS, that adjustment overshoots. Your heart rate climbs, and keeps climbing (Raj, Fedorowski, & Sheldon, 2022).
The definition is a number. Within 10 minutes of standing, your heart rate rises by at least 30 beats per minute (40 if you're 12 to 19), it stays up, and your blood pressure ...
With a background in nursing and a genuine passion for care, Jessie supports myStoria members as part of the Concierge team.
