We report on a 21-year-old young woman who developed symptoms of POTS four weeks after complete recovery from acute malignant malaria that lasted for 3 weeks. She had palpitations, low blood pressure, dysautonomia, and syncope. She was diagnosed with POTS during her first visit to a multispecialty hospital at age 25. Due to continuous treatment, she recovered well from POTS symptoms and managed to live with mild symptoms of dysautonomia until age 31. She was off medication for the next two years and her persisting dysautonomic symptoms prompted her to seek another hospital visit and further referrals as they were becoming less tolerable. She was back on regular medication and continued to maintain well until now at age 51. This case was one of the first among the POTS cases in India when it was diagnosed over 25 years ago. Unlike the widely reported cases of post-viral POTS diagnosis, this is one of the rare cases of POTS due to post-malarial infection.
Interestingly, similar to the post-viral POTS, malaria-related POTS may suffer neurological damage. Severe orthostatic hypotension associated with tachycardia and insufficient peripheral vasoconstriction, as often manifested in POTS, has been widely reported in acute malignant malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum12 although very rarely described in uncomplicated malaria due to Plasmodium vivax13. To our knowledge, while malaria-related POTS has not been reported so far, post-malaria neurological syndrome with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) has been reported in a case report of a 30-year-old woman11, who had a multifocal, monophasic, demyelinating disease akin to a post-viral infection. It is also possible that antimalarial drugs such as Quinine might cause neural damage. A rat study reported that Mefloquine, a quinoline-methanol derivative of Quinine, caused profound alterations in autonomic and respiratory control systems14. A human cell-culture study found that antimalarial drugs quinine, chloroquine, and mefloquine acted as antagonists at 5-HT3 receptors15. Therefore, it is highly likely that acute neural damage followed by chronic dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system following infection caused by Plasmodium falciparum and anti-malarial treatment is a possibility in our patient although there were no MRI and other imaging studies done to support this claim.
In one of the largest studies on 4835 participants with POTS, Shaw et al.5 reported that most of the patients with POTS were identified as female (80–94%), ages between 12–50 years with a median age 17 years, and 47% developed first symptoms after the age of 18. The major causes reported were infection (41%), surgery (12%), pregnancy (9%), vaccination (6%), accident (6%), puberty (5%), post-concussion (4%), and emotional stress or trauma (3%). The study also reported that patients waited a median 2 years to get a diagnosis with a mean of 4.9 ± 7.1 years, reflecting extraordinarily long waits. Further, 21% (n = 627) of patients reported having seen more than 10 doctors until they were diagnosed with POTS. In our patient, the symptoms started at age 21, following an acute malignant malaria and it took over 4 years to get the diagnosis of POTS, as it is understandable that 75% of patients reported being misdiagnosed before receiving the diagnosis of POTS even in recent times5. Although orthostatic tachycardia, the cardinal feature of POTS, was first described in 194016, it was systematically described as a diagnostic category by Schondorf and Low in 199317, just two years before our patient received the diagnosis. POTS is a heterogeneous dysautonomic disorder with various subtypes18, which is often underdiagnosed because symptoms mimic many related disorders including vasovagal syndrome4. Interestingly, to our knowledge, there are no studies or case reports available for the post-malarial POTS, as described in our case study.
The three most common symptoms of POTs were lightheadedness, tachycardia, and presyncope, a symptom triad that was present in 91% of the patients5. Our patient had all three symptoms, along with headache, nausea, vomiting, blurry vision, dizziness, and syncope, until she was diagnosed and treated with medication. Shaw et al.’s study5 reported only 16% (N = 610) of POTS patients with Raynaud's phenomena, which was present in our patient and persisted for about 30 years even after being on continuous medication with metoprolol, a beta-blocker, as these medications have no role in controlling excessive vasoconstrictions. However, Nifedipine was prescribed to counteract Raynaud’s phenomena as needed. Although there are no FDA-approved drugs to treat patients with POTS, individualized treatment strategies are typically based on different subtypes of POTS, such as hypovolemic, neuropathic, and hyperadrenergic. A systematic review3 reported that the pharmacological approach for POTS is usually specific to its symptom clusters: (i) midodrine for reducing orthostatic symptoms, (ii) bisoprolol and fludrocortisone for orthostatic intolerance, and (iii) beta-blockers such as metoprolol for palpitations and tremors (see Table 2 for a list of most widely used pharmacological treatment for POTS). These pharmacological treatments help improve blood flow and reduce symptoms such as lightheadedness, dizziness, and fatigue that are common in patients with POTS by regulating the autonomic nervous system which controls involuntary functions of the body, including heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion3. Non-pharmacological and lifestyle changes, such as salt intake, exercise training, food regulation, compression stockings/garments, and avoiding prolonged standing, exertion, and extreme temperatures, are also important in controlling the symptoms of POTS9. Interestingly, 52% of the POTS patients attributed symptom improvements to nonpharmacological treatments5. Our patient, who is a medical doctor, properly followed both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments with the guidance of her clinical team, and therefore she has been able to function optimally in various life settings over the past 30 years.
Table 2
The most widely used pharmacological treatment in POTS (as reported by Fedorowski9)
Drug | Comments |
Heart rate-controlling agents |
Beta-blockers (propranolol, 10–40 mg TID; bisoprolol, 2.5-5 mg BID; metoprolol, 25–100 mg daily; atenolol, 12.5–50 mg daily) | Beta-blockers are especially recommended in the ‘hyperadrenergic’ subtype associated with sinus tachycardia > 120 bpm on standing. Beta-blockers may aggravate orthostatic intolerance in low-BP phenotype, asthma, and paroxysmal chest pain. |
Ivabradine (2.5–7.5 mg BID) | This drug is effective in low-BP phenotype or when beta-blockers are not well tolerated. It is usually seen as an alternative to beta-blockers. |
Verapamil (40–80 mg BID/TID) | This calcium channel blocker with a negative chronotropic effect can be tested in the ‘hyperadrenergic’ type associated with higher BP, migraine, and chest pain. |
Vasoactive and volume-expanding agents |
Clonidine (0.2–0.6 mg BID) | Centrally acting α2-adrenoreceptor agonist with overall sympatholytic effect. It is generally recommended for the ‘hyperadrenergic’ subtype and hypertensive tendency on standing. |
Midodrine (2.5–10 mg TID) | Direct α1-adrenoreceptor agonist. One of the few pharmacological agents positively tested in placebo-controlled studies for orthostatic hypotension. It may be effective in the ‘hypovolemic’ subtype and low-BP phenotype with pronounced orthostatic intolerance. |
Droxidopa (100–600 mg TID) | Peroral norepinephrine precursor. The drug has been empirically used off-label in severe POTS. |
Pyridostigmine (30–60 mg BID/TID) | Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. It might be considered in the POTS phenotype associated with suspected autonomic neuropathy, gastrointestinal dysfunction, and non-specific muscle weakness. The effect on BP is small. |
Fludrocortisone (0.1–0.2 mg daily) | Mineralocorticoid. Volume expander. Increases sodium reabsorption and enhances the sensitivity of α-adrenoreceptors. The drug may worsen supine hypertension and hypokalemia. It is recommended in the ‘hypovolemic’ subtype and low-BP phenotype. |
Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (25/30–50/60 mg TID) | Direct and indirect α1-adrenoreceptor agonist. Efficacy is controversial. |
Desmopressin (0.1–0.4 mg BID) | Vasopressin analogue. Volume expander. Increases water reabsorption and reduces nycturia. Sparse evidence exists. Efficacy is uncertain. |
In-hospital acute 1–2 L physiological saline infusion (during consecutive 3–5 days) | In acute decompensated POTS, this method should be considered to alleviate the short-term symptoms. |
While POTS has been a highly recognized diagnostic category, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic due to its high prevalence following the SARS-CoV-2 infection10, it is also important to study malaria-related POTS, especially in tropical and poor countries where malarial infections are common. Although there were no obvious manifestations observed due to malignant malaria and/or malarial treatment in our patient, both animal and human studies have demonstrated neuronal damage following severe malarial illness. Our case study highlights the fact that post-malarial POTS seems to be a neglected area of research as there is a lack of data and a paucity of literature on this topic. While the diagnosis and management of POTS symptoms, irrespective of causal factors, are practically the same in current practice, we propose that the pathophysiology and manifestations of these symptoms may vary subtly due to specific etiological mechanisms. We also recommend that strategies aimed at both preventing and treating POTS symptoms should include both pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures, as both domains have been shown to reduce the symptoms and improve functioning, as our case report suggests.