Feb 29, 2012

ABC World News story on POTS

Here's a link to the story by Diane Sawyer and ABC World News:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/02/29/what-astronauts-have-taught-doctors-about-fainting/

I am hearing from many POTS patients who are angry at Dr. Jaeger for making it seem like POTS is just about small hearts and deconditioning, and the fact that he used the word "cure."  I encourage all of you to post your thoughts on the ABC news page underneath the story.

While the story wasn't perfect, overall, I think this was a good thing.  The fact that POTS was mentioned on ABC World News at all is a big deal.  Millions of people just heard about POTS for the first time in their lives.  The reporter did clarify at the end of the story that this was not a cure for all patients.  Perhaps Dr. Jaeger discussed this in his interview and they didn't use all of the footage?

He is one of the doctors I saw at Cleveland Clinic, and he did not diagnose me with a small heart.  In fact, I have had a cardiac MRI, and it showed that I have an enlarged heart.

It will be interesting to see if this leads to any additional media coverage.