Tess Hansen is among an increasing number of people being diagnosed with POTS — a condition associated with long COVID — but experts say doctors are not being taught enough about it, leading to long periods of confusion and under-treatment.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, cases of POTS have increased in Australia but misdiagnosis has led to many patients feeling dismissed by the medical system.Australian researchers say there needs to be more awareness about POTS to try to stop patients from being turned away.The night 14-year-old Tess Hansen thought she was having a heart attack and sought emergency medical help, she was asked if she was having "boy problems".
Tess has missed more than 10 weeks of school this year alone and had to drop subjects, meaning she is no longer eligible for an ATAR.The first time Tess saw a doctor about her symptoms before her heart scare, she was told it was just a virus — a diagnosis her mother Lily said was not reflective of the range of severe symptoms she was seeing.
"Because dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system isn't properly taught in medical school, many people with dysautonomia are misdiagnosed or neglected, and often they're told nothing is wrong with them," Dr Lau said. As part of her role with the Australian POTS Foundation, Dr Gallagher has assisted in opening access to public patients experiencing POTS symptoms, including the opening of the first public POTS clinic at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.South Australian epidemiologist Adrian Esterman has been invited to speak to a select committee in Parliament to brief them on the current state of COVID-19 in the state.
"We know that there are approximately 35,000 South Australians with long COVID — at least that many — and what concerns me is we have very few services available to treat it." Tess says having a fitness plan and performing horizontal exercises like rowing have been part of her POTS management journey.Now ineligible for an ATAR from missing too much school, Tess is focused on building her strength so she can live life to the fullest.
POTS Covid-19 Research Long Covid Vertigo Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Doctor Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Doctors Medical Gaslighting Vaccine
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