Could a blood pressure pill calm racing hearts in POTS?
NCT ID NCT04140721
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether moxonidine, a blood pressure medication that lowers sympathetic nerve activity, can reduce symptoms like rapid heartbeat and lightheadedness in people with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). About 48 participants will take either moxonidine or a placebo for 4 weeks to compare changes in symptom burden and heart rate when standing. The goal is to find more personalized treatments for this condition that mainly affects young women.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Early phase 1
The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.
- Participants
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About 48 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2021
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 55 years
- Sex
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Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * meets criteria for postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) 1. a heart rate increase of ≥30 beats/min within 10 minutes of upright posture; 2. lack of orthostatic hypotension (blood pressure fall ≥ 20/10 mmHg within 3 minutes of standing); and 3. chronic symptoms during upright posture over at least 6 months, in the absence of any other acute cause. * in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle (days 5-13 of a 28-day cycle) * POTS with primary central sympathetic activation (psPOTS) as defined as having resting MSNA ≥ 25 bursts/min * able and willing to provide informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * pregnancy, * smoker, * BMI\>30 kg/m2, * deconditioned status (if available VO2max\<80% of predicted) * unable to withdraw from medications known to affect autonomic function, blood pressure or blood volume * systemic illnesses known to produce autonomic neuropathy, including but not limited to diabetes mellitus, amyloidosis, monoclonal gammopathies, and autoimmune neuropathies. * arteriosclerotic disease of carotid artery. History of neck surgery. * conditions associated with inflammatory processes, such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, smoking, hypercholesterolemia (or on statin therapy), rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, * treatment with oral corticosteroids, current infections (e.g., urinary tract infection), or use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. * other factors which in the investigator's opinion would prevent the subject from completing the protocol including clinically significant abnormalities in clinical, mental or laboratory testing.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee, 37221, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Could antibodies be behind POTS? new study investigates
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- POTS patients may get relief from blood pressure drug, early study hints
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