Tilt Table Testing
Fast facts
- A tilt-table test involves changing a person’s positioning quickly and seeing how their blood pressure and heart rate respond.
- This test is ordered for people who have symptoms like a rapid heartbeat or who often feel faint when they go from a sitting to standing position. Doctors call this condition syncope.
- Potential risks of the test include nausea, dizziness, and fainting.
Doctors recommend a tilt-table test for patients they suspect may have certain medical conditions, including:
Neurally mediated hypotension
Doctors also call this condition the fainting reflex or autonomic dysfunction. It causes a person’s heart rate to slow down instead of speed up when they stand, which keeps blood from pooling in the legs and arms. As a result, a person may feel faint.
Neurally mediated syncope
A person with this syndrome can experience symptoms such as nausea, lightheadedness, and pale skin, followed by a loss of consciousness.
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)
This disorder occurs when a person experiences changes when they suddenly stand up. Doctors associate POTS with an increase in heart rate up to 30 beats and feeling faint within 10 minutes of standing up from a sitting position.
Women between the ages of 15 and 50 are more likely to experience POTS, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
The tilt-table test can simulate the effect of sitting to standing in a controlled environment, so a doctor can see how a person’s body responds.
The purpose of the tilt-table test is for a doctor to view firsthand the symptoms you experience when changing position.
You might not feel ill effects during the procedure, but you may experience symptoms like dizziness, feeling faint, or even fainting. You may also feel very nauseated.
Follow advice on when to eat
Because some people feel nauseated when they go from a sitting to standing position, a doctor may ask you not to eat two to eight hours before the test. This helps to minimize the chance you’ll be sick to your stomach.
Talk about medications you’re taking
Your doctor will also review the medications you’re currently taking and make recommendations about which ones you should take the night before or the morning of your test. If you have a question about a particular medication, ask your doctor.
Consider if you’ll drive yourself or get a ride
You may want a person to drive you home after the procedure. Consider arranging for a ride beforehand to make sure someone is available.