Student who fainted EVERY time she stood up for 14 years can
finally stand tall after given revolutionary heart drug
On her feet: Lizzie
suffers from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS),
which affects the body's ability to adjust to the pull of
gravity
A student with a rare condition
that caused her to faint every time she stood up over 14 years is
finally back on her feet.
Lizzie Rees, 22, suffers from
postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which affects the
body's ability to adjust to the pull of
gravity.
The condition causes her heart
rate to speed up whenever she stands, causing her to pass out up to
five times a day.
Even getting up from a chair
would cause her to collapse and she often had to crawl around on
her hands and knees or use a wheelchair.
But after countless medical
experts failed to cure the problem she is finally enjoying a normal
life after a heart specialist prescribed a drug to control her
blood flow.
Miss Rees, from Bristol, said:
'I would pass out up to five times a day and was constantly getting
injured banging my head and have to go off to
A&E.
'I have seen cardiologists and
doctors of pretty much every speciality going, but it is great to
know that this is treatable.
'I remember feeling so much
better after I started treatment. I still pass out occasionally but
going to college now shows how far I have come.'
POTS is a form of dysautonomia
- an abnormal functioning of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS),
which controls many subconscious bodily functions including
breathing and balance.
When the average person stands
their blood pressure drops slightly but the ANS recognises this and
causes their heart rate to momentarily increase.
But in POTS patients, their
blood pressure plummets when they stand, causing the heart to race.
Blood supply is not able to reach the brain quickly enough,
resulting in dizziness, vision loss and fainting.
Lizzie inherited a genetic
condition which left her more susceptible to POTS and it was
triggered by an infection she picked up at the age of
eight.
But the age of 12 she was
unable to even sit up in bed and was admitted to hospital for 14
months as doctors sought a cure.
Lizzie missed school
completely between the age of 11 and 16 because she was unable to
stand.
By her late teens the condition briefly improved and she was able
to take a job as a part-time care assistant at 18.
In and out of hospital: Lizzie
pictured in hospital with her mother when she was younger. An
infection triggered her condition when she was just
eight
But she had to quit within a
year after the symptoms returned.
Lizzie, who has spent most of
her life getting around in a wheelchair, said: 'I have seen
cardiologists and doctors of pretty much every speciality going but
no one could figure it out.
'I spent three years in
hospital in total, including 14 months at the children's hospital,
bed-bound in a darkened room, fed by a tube.
'Fortunately I have had the
support of my family and some very good friends.'
But last September Lizzie was
referred to Glyn Thomas, a consultant cardiologist and cardiac
electrophysiologist at the Bristol Heart
Institute.
After extensive tests he
prescribed daily injections of the drug octreotide, which increases
her blood pressure and prevents her passing out.
Her condition improved so much
she has started an arts therapy college course at City of Bristol
College.
Getting around: Lizzie Rees was often
confined to a wheelchair to stop her from fainting
She said: 'I almost didn't
turn up for my appointment with Dr Thomas because I have seen so
many people before and had not got anywhere, but it was so
refreshing to see him.
'I remember feeling so much
better after I started treatment. I still pass out occasionally but
going to college now shows how far I have come.'
Lizzie is now fulfilling a
long-term dream of attending the Glastonbury
Festival.
She has bought tickets every
year since 2005 with the hope of being able to join her friends at
the event but has had to rip up her ticket at the last
minute.
The medication she is using is
not routinely funded by the NHS but doctors can apply for
exceptional funding on their patients' behalf.
It is thought that just a few
hundred people worldwide suffer from the severe form of POTS such
as Lizzie's.
Her parents Corinne, 58, and
Gareth, 61, both doctors, hope that hundreds of other POTS
sufferers could now benefit.
Christmas away from home: Lizzie
spent 14 months bed bound in a children's hospital
Corinne, a community
paediatrician, said: 'It is huge, the heart institute have done a
fantastic job, it is such a profound relief. She just wants to get
on with her life.
'It has made a considerable
difference to her life, one the hospital trust can be proud
of.
'I think a core part of what
they are doing is to recognise that POTS is a treatable condition
and working to treat it.
'A lot of factors contribute
towards the condition, such as the right water and salt levels and
increasing exercise to help with blood flow.
'I would suspect they will
find a lot of people out there who suffer to some extent who
previously may not have fitted into a certain box and not been
treated correctly. Hopefully this will change that.'