Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome during pregnancy: A systematic review of the literature

Abstract

Purpose: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is most commonly seen in women of child bearing age, however little is known about its effects in pregnancy.

Method: A systematic review was conducted in March 2015 and updated in February 2018. Medline, Embase, PsychInfo, CINHAL, and the Cochrane Library were searched from database inception. The ClinicalTrials.gov site and bibliographies were searched. MeSH and Emtree headings and keywords included; Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Postural Tachycardia Syndrome, and were combined with pregnancy and pregnancy related subject headings and keywords. Searches were limited to English. Eligible articles contained key words within the title and or abstract. Articles were excluded if Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome was not pre-existing.

Results: Eleven articles were identified as eligible for inclusion. Studies were appraised using the PRISMA 2009 guidelines. The overall quality of evidence was poor using the NHMRC Evidence Grading Matrix, which was attributed to small sample sizes and mostly observational studies, emphasizing the need for future high quality research. Findings in this review must be used with caution due to the poor quality of the literature available.

Conclusions: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome should not be a contraindication to pregnancy. Symptom course is variable during pregnancy and the post-partum period. Continuing pre-conception medication may help symptoms, with no significant risks reported. Obstetric complications, not Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, should dictate mode of delivery. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome did not appear to affect the rate of adverse events. These results are important in determining appropriate management and care in this population.

Keywords: Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome; Postural tachycardia syndrome; Pregnancy; Systematic review.