Robert Belt, MD, Cardiology
Syncope and Palpitation Clinic
112 College St. South
Madisonville, TN 37354
Phone: (423)836-9550​
​
Knoxville Clinic opening soon
​​
Get control of your
life. Achieve independence and success.
Palpitations. POTS. Syncope. Fainting. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.
Syncope.
Syncope is defined as loss of consciousness or fainting. It usually has a warning that it is coming. The warning is called a prodrome. This warning can be feeling nauseated or ill, sweats, ears ringing. The faint can sometimes be stopped at this point by squatting, sitting down, or laying down. If these actions are not taken, this is often followed by visual changes such as spots, dimming of vision, tunnel vision or greying of vision. By the time visual changes begin, syncope is the next event, sometimes with a fall that can injure the victim. Many people have one or two of these spells in their lives. Those that have syncope monthly, weekly, or even daily can lose independence, lose their jobs, lose their ability to drive, etc. It is our mission to help these people reduce or eliminate these spells such that return to normalcy can be achieved.
fsf
Palpitations
Palpitations is defined as sensing your heart beating in a way that the patient feels is uncomfortable, distracting, or anxiety-provoking. Some describe flip flops, skipped beats, heart pounding, or heart racing. Most of the time there is an abnormal heart rhythm as the cause. Most of the time they are not life threatening, but in some cases the abnormal heart rhythm is dangerous. Often to find the cause requires prolonged monitoring of the heart rhythm. Almost all palpitations can be successfully treated.
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
POTS is defined as an increase the heart rate by over 30 beats per minute going from laying flat to standing upright (over 40 beats per minute in a child) or achieving over 120 bpm just standing upright without a significant drop in blood pressure. Orthostatic means the symptoms are worse in the upright position. Tachycardia means fast heart beating. Most patients suffering from this syndrome have orthostatic intolerance, feeling a bit light-headed or have extreme fatigue or a brain fog upon getting in a standing position. After a prolonged period in the upright position, a drop in blood pressure or even syncope can occur. For some people, only palpitations from the fast heart beat is felt. Others have such severe orthostatic drops in blood pressure or eventual syncope that their independence is severely diminished. Some people with this syndrome also have significant fatigue, brain fog or difficulty concentrating, chest discomfort, gastroparesis, and other symptoms of dysautonomia. This syndrome is sometimes hard to recognize. Once diagnosed successfully, treatment can begin that significantly reduces or resolves the symptoms.
Orthostatic Hypotension
Orthostatic hypotension is defined as a significant drop in blood pressure when going from a laying position or sitting position to a standing position. This drop of blood pressure can be mild and initially hardly noticeable for some people. For others, the drop in blood pressure can be so severe that light headedness occurs, sometimes followed by syncope. This is an advanced form of syncope, because the orthostatic drop in pressure is there all the time, so the risk of syncope is present daily. This problem can be treated, often requiring multiple medications. Most of the time the orthostatic drop in blood pressure remains after treatment, but instead of the standing pressure being so low that it causes symptoms, the treated standing pressure is in the normal range such that near syncope or syncope is no longer present.