How to Pronounce Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome
Definition, meaning, and phonetic spelling
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Pronunciation
POS-chur-al or-tho-STAT-ik tak-ih-KAR-dee-ah SIN-drohm
Stressed syllable in ALL CAPS · hyphens separate syllables
Syllable Breakdown
POS
stress here
chur
al or
tho
STAT
stress here
ik tak
ih
KAR
stress here
dee
ah SIN
drohm
11 syllables
What is Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome?
A form of dysautonomia in which standing up causes an excessive increase in heart rate (more than 30 beats per minute) without a significant drop in blood pressure; many cases have an autoimmune basis with antibodies against autonomic receptors, and it frequently follows viral infections including COVID-19.
Questions About Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome
How do you pronounce 'Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome'?
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Say it like this: POS-chur-al or-tho-STAT-ik tak-ih-KAR-dee-ah SIN-drohm. Break it into four main parts, and stress the syllables that are capitalized: POS in the first part, STAT in the second part, KAR in the third part, and SIN in the last part.
What is the correct stress pattern for this term?
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The stress falls on POS (first syllable), STAT (third syllable overall), KAR (seventh syllable overall), and SIN (ninth syllable overall). A common mistake is stressing or-THO instead of or-tho-STAT, so remember that STAT is the big emphasis in the second part of the name.
What does 'postural' mean in this term?
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Postural comes from the Latin word 'postura,' which means 'position' or 'posture.' In this term, it refers to your body's position—specifically, what happens when you change from lying or sitting to standing up.
What does 'orthostatic' mean?
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Orthostatic comes from two Greek words: 'ortho' meaning 'straight' or 'upright,' and 'stasis' meaning 'standing' or 'position.' So orthostatic literally means 'standing upright,' and it describes things that happen when you stand up from a resting position.
What does 'tachycardia' mean in plain English?
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Tachycardia comes from Greek 'tachy' (fast) and 'cardia' (heart), so it simply means a fast heartbeat. In this term, it describes an abnormally rapid increase in heart rate.
What is the short form or abbreviation for this condition?
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The abbreviation is POTS (pronounced by saying each letter: P-O-T-S). You'll often hear doctors and patients refer to it as 'POTS' instead of saying the full name.
How do you break this term into its four main parts?
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The term divides into: (1) Postural (pos-CHUR-al), (2) Orthostatic (or-tho-STAT-ik), (3) Tachycardia (tak-ih-KAR-dee-ah), and (4) Syndrome (SIN-drohm). Each part describes a different aspect of the condition.
What does 'syndrome' mean at the end of this term?
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Syndrome comes from Greek and means 'running together' or 'a collection of things together.' In medical terms, a syndrome is a group of symptoms or signs that happen together as a pattern. Here it means POTS is a recognized medical condition with a specific set of characteristics.
Can you use this word in a simple sentence?
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Here's an example: 'Her doctor explained that she had Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, which is why her heart rate increased so much when she stood up.' You can also say: 'She was diagnosed with POTS, the shortened form of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.'