A reader writes,

I have low blood pressure. When I became deficient in magnesium I was constantly feeling faint and blacking out. But once I took the magnesium, within six months it finally stabilized. All the meds the doctor gave me never did a thing but make me gain weight. So for people with POTS, it is worth trying. Everyone focuses on high blood pressure, but never low, which is hard to live with sometimes.”

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a condition producing excessive heart rate when rising from a lying or sitting position. Heart rate can increase from 30 to 120 beats per minute upon standing.

People generally develop POTS after becoming sick with a virus, giving birth, or being exposed to great bodily stressors (surgery, trauma, chemotherapy). All of these can also produce a magnesium deficiency.

POTS patients use about three times more energy to stand than a healthy person. It is as if these patients are running in place constantly. Activities such as housework, bathing, and even meals can exacerbate symptoms. Energy drain such as this will make magnesium deficiency even worse.

In 1999, it was estimated that nearly 500,000 Americans had POTS. Since then, the number of people found to have POTS symptoms is steadily rising, as is magnesium deficiency. It is now estimated that 1% of teenagers have POTS. Women are five times more likely to develop POTS than men.

As yet, there are no scientific studies to back up the idea that POTS can be related to a magnesium deficiency, but it’s easy enough for you to find out for yourself. Slowly and carefully introduce magnesium and see what eventuates. It’s worth a try.

Hippocrates Pure Food-Grade Magnesium Chloride is available.