Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Orthostatic Hypotension Following Hematopoietic Stem Cell...

Postural orthostatic tachycardia (POTS) and orthostatic hypotension (OH) commonly occur after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

This study sought to determine the prevalence of POTS and OH before HSCT and the incidence of new cases after HSCT.

In this single-center, prospective study, patients were evaluated 30 days before and 30 and 100 days after HSCT. Blood pressure, heart rate, and plasma norepinephrine levels were measured in the supine position and after a 10-minute active stand test to assess for POTS or OH. After HSCT, adrenergic receptor (AR)-modulating autoantibody activity was measured in 8 subjects with POTS and 8 without.

Among 46 patients, 40 (87.0%) underwent autologous and 6 (13.0%) allogeneic HSCT. Multiple myeloma was the most common indication (67.4%). Before HSCT, the prevalence of both POTS and OH was 4.3%. At 30 days after HSCT, POTS was present in 10 (25.6%) of 39 patients, including 9 (23.1%) new cases, and OH in 6 (15.4%), including 5 (12.8%) new cases. Patients with POTS at 30 days showed a significantly greater increase in norepinephrine levels upon standing (median 231% [Q1-Q3: 179%-343%]) compared with before HSCT (median 100% [Q1-Q3: 62%-183%]) (P = 0.005), which positively correlated with heart rate changes. AR-modulating autoantibody activity was also higher in patients with POTS vs those without and directly correlated with heart rate changes.

Approximately 1 in 4 patients developed POTS after HSCT, characterized by exaggerated increases in norepinephrine upon standing and elevated AR-modulating autoantibody activity.