Biological Sex Differences in POTS with Marie-Claire Seeley, RN, PhD

In this podcast episode, Dr. Marie-Claire Seeley discusses recent findings from the Australian POTS Registry that examine biological sex differences in POTS patients. The study highlights several key differences in how male and female patients experience POTS symptoms, seek medical care, and are diagnosed. Notably, the research found that women report worse autonomic symptoms than men, yet they experience similar levels of anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Despite this, women face a longer diagnostic delay (seven years on average) compared to men (four years), which reflects potential gender bias in clinical practice. The episode emphasizes the need for improved clinician awareness and education to mitigate these disparities and reduce diagnostic delays for all POTS patients. This research underlines the critical need for health systems to better recognize and manage POTS to improve patient outcomes and reduce the burden on healthcare systems.