Planned Visual
B-Role of people who have PoTS talking
about PoTS-from TikTok/Instagram
Camera cuts to me, walking outside by the
river.
Put statistics on screen around me.
Me interviewing/ talking to Jess in her
house or outside, depending on weather.
Pictures of Jess’ symptoms before she was
diagnosed.
Me talking to Claire (Jess’ Mum) in their
house.
Pictures/videos of younger Jess,
pictures/videos of Jess with PoTS.
Me and Jess PoTS test- active stand test
In her house, with blood pressure monitor.
Audio
Explaining how PoTS affects them, what
PoTS is and talking about PoTS in general.
PoTS statistics- 2 in 1000 people are
affected, 0.2% of the population of the UK,
majority (92%) females aged 15-50, 50% of
children with PoTS cannot regularly attend
school, it is due to an abnormal response by
the autonomic nervous system. So what
really is PoTS?
I’m on my way to see Jess Heather, a
teenager who suffers from PoTS.
How has your life changed since being
diagnosed with PoTS? Was it difficult to get
diagnosed? How do you manage your
symptoms? How has it impacted your
education? How has it impacted your day-
to-day life? Are there any specific tasks that
you now find challenging that you didn’t
before? Are you on any medication to help
your symptoms? What made you think that
something serious was going on? Do you
think your PoTS is related to your covid or
long covid? How did you feel when you
were diagnosed? How long did it take to get
diagnosed?
How has Jess having PoTS affected you?
What was Jess like before PoTS? Was she
an active child? What changes have you
had to make to your family life? Was it
difficult to come to terms with the fact your
daughter has a chronic illness? Have you
received or looked for any support from any
charities etc? How did you feel before Jess
was diagnosed? Are you hopeful for the
future that she will have a good recovery?
There are different tests that someone can
take to determine whether they have PoTS,
such as the head-up tilt table test, 24 hour
blood pressure/ heart rate monitor, an
echiocardiogram and blood tests. The one
that we are going to be doing today is the
active stand test. During the test, your heart
rate and blood pressure is measured lying

(Whilst we are doing the active stand test)
Me, Jess and Lottie interview inside again
or outside (depending on the weather)
Back to me walking, concluding what PoTS
is and the effect it has on a teenager’s life.
down, immediately after standing up, 2
mins after standing up, 5 mins, 10 mins.
You had to do a 24 hour heart rate monitor
recently, how was it? Did it come back with
any helpful conclusions? How do you
feel?
In some cases PoTS has developed after an
infection, a traumatic event, immunisation
or a life stressor. Jess and Lottie both had
covid at the same time. Jess’ turned into
long covid which then caused her PoTS.
What was your experience with covid like?
Was it any different to Jess’ experience?
Where you both really ill or was it mild?
What is it like having a friend with PoTS?
Did you know anything about PoTS before
you knew that Jess had it? Have you had to
adapt anything to fit Jess’ needs?
PoTS is a little-known illness which has
major effects on people’s lives. There are
some ways of helping the condition or
symptoms, such as by drinking a lot of
fluids, avoiding things that trigger the
symptoms, increasing your salt intake and
wearing compression clothes to improve
blood flow. There is a lot of support through
charities such as PoTSuk, Autonomic
Charitable Trust and UK Potsies.