At Home Tilt Test

You can do an at home, tilt test as well. It won’t be quite as accurate as a formal one, but it will help you gather data that you can use with your doctor. These are usually referred to as a “Poor Man’s Tilt Test.” I don’t like the name, but if you want to research it, that is the phrase that gets the most results.

Warning:

**People with POTS or people who suspect that they have POTS can faint from doing these tests.**

Please be careful and know that is a potential outcome. I’d recommend doing this under supervision / not by yourself. If you feel like you’re going to faint or black out, you might want to sit down.

Requirements:

  • Blood pressure monitor that includes your heart rate

  • Optional: Heart rate monitor or an oximeter.

Instructions:

  1. Put the blood pressure cuff on.

  2. Lay down as flat and as still as you can for 10 minutes.

  3. Take your blood pressure while laying down. This is your resting blood pressure and heart rate.

  4. Stand up. Take your blood pressure and heart rate every minute for the next 10 minutes. I personally use my phone as a timer and to take a photo of the blood pressure recordings. You can also have another person record those numbers and help time it. If your heart rate goes up 30 beats per minutes over the next minutes, you may have POTS.