Poor Man’s Tilt Table Test: Free At-Home POTS Test Timer

Standing test timer

Want a record over weeks, not one morning? In the Juno app you tell Juno how you feel by voice or text, and it keeps your symptoms, heart rate and context together.

How to do the poor man’s tilt table test

The poor man’s tilt table test, also called the active stand test, measures how much your heart rate rises when you go from lying down to standing. It is the same change a hospital tilt table test looks for, measured with a watch or pulse oximeter instead. Dysautonomia International notes that when tilt testing is not available, POTS can be diagnosed from lying and standing readings at 2, 5 and 10 minutes.

Get ready. Pick a calm time, ideally in the morning before caffeine, and use the toilet first. Have your watch, pulse oximeter or blood pressure monitor to hand, and note anything that could change the result, such as compression wear, extra salt or fluids, or a recent meal.
Lie down. Lie flat and still for at least 5 minutes (10 or more for the NASA lean test), then take your heart rate and, if you can, your blood pressure.
Stand up. Stand still with your arms by your sides. For the NASA lean test, rest your shoulder blades against a wall with your heels about 15 cm (6 inches) from it. Relax your arms and legs, and try not to talk or shift your weight.
Take readings for 10 minutes. Take your heart rate every minute if you can, or at least at 2, 5 and 10 minutes. If you are measuring blood pressure, include minutes 1 and 3.
Note how you feel. Note any dizziness, racing heart, blurred vision, shaking, nausea, or legs turning red or purple.
Sit down and save the results. Sit or lie down afterwards, or straight away if you feel faint. Print or copy the results for your doctor.

PoTS UK’s guide to a home stand test suggests readings lying down, straight after standing and then every 1 to 2 minutes until 10 minutes, with someone helping you, and taking the results to your GP. Readings change with the time of day, heat, a big meal, alcohol, fluids, your period and medicines, and home readings can be less reliable than a clinic’s. A single normal test does not rule POTS out, so some people repeat it on a few different days and show their doctor every result.

What the numbers mean

These are the thresholds doctors use when they assess postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), from the 2015 Heart Rhythm Society consensus statement and later expert guidance. The tool reports your numbers against them; it does not diagnose anything.

What doctors look for in a standing test
Measure	What doctors look for
Heart rate, adults	A rise of at least 30 beats per minute within 10 minutes of standing, that lasts rather than spiking for a moment.
Heart rate, ages 12 to 19	A rise of at least 40 beats per minute.
Blood pressure	No big fall. A fall of 20 systolic or 10 diastolic within 3 minutes of standing is orthostatic hypotension, a different condition.
Symptoms	Frequent symptoms when upright, such as light-headedness, palpitations, shaking, weakness or blurred vision.

Only a clinician can diagnose POTS. They will also look for other causes of a fast heart rate on standing, such as dehydration, blood loss or anaemia, an overactive thyroid, some medicines or a long time in bed after an illness. POTS often comes with other conditions, including hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, long COVID and ME/CFS.

Poor man’s tilt table test, NASA lean test or tilt table test?

All three compare your heart rate and blood pressure lying down with the same readings upright. The difference is how you stay upright and who runs the test.

Standing tests compared
	Poor man’s tilt table test	NASA lean test	Tilt table test
Where	At home or in a clinic	At home or in a clinic	Hospital
Position	Standing still	Leaning back on a wall	Strapped to a table tilted head-up
Time upright	10 minutes	10 minutes	Usually 10 to 45 minutes
Readings	Lying, then at 2, 5 and 10 minutes or every minute	Lying, then every minute	Continuous
Who reads the results	Your doctor	Your doctor	A specialist

To keep a longer record between appointments, the free symptom tracker logs dizziness and other symptoms with a 0 to 10 score, and our guide to apps for POTS compares heart-rate apps.

Questions

Can I test myself for POTS at home?

You can measure the heart-rate change at home with this test, and many doctors find the numbers useful. You can’t diagnose yourself: a clinician diagnoses POTS, checks for other causes and may repeat the test or arrange a tilt table test.

What heart rate increase means POTS?

For adults, a rise of at least 30 beats per minute within 10 minutes of standing that lasts, without a big fall in blood pressure, together with symptoms when upright. For ages 12 to 19 the figure is 40. A doctor makes the diagnosis.

How accurate is the poor man’s tilt table test?

It measures the same heart-rate change doctors look for, but readings taken at home can be off, and they vary with the time of day, heat, food, fluids, your cycle and medicines. In one study of the NASA lean test, a third of healthy people also reached the 30 bpm rise by 10 minutes, and one normal result does not rule POTS out. That is why a doctor needs to interpret it.

Can I use an Apple Watch or another smartwatch?

Yes. Many people use a watch or a fingertip pulse oximeter. Wait for the number to settle before you note it, and if it looks wrong, count your pulse for 30 seconds and double it. You need a blood pressure cuff for blood pressure.

What is the NASA lean test?

A version of the standing test in which you lean your shoulder blades against a wall instead of standing freely, with heart rate and blood pressure measured every minute for 10 minutes. The CDC describes it as a simple standing test for orthostatic intolerance in ME/CFS.

What else can make my heart rate rise when I stand?

Dehydration, a recent illness, a long time in bed, anaemia, an overactive thyroid, some medicines, caffeine and anxiety can all raise your standing heart rate. That is why a doctor looks at the results alongside your history.

Is the test safe to do at home?

Most people feel some of their usual symptoms, and some people faint. Have someone with you, stand where you can sit down quickly and stop if you feel faint. Ask your doctor first if you have fainted before or have a heart condition.

Does this page save my readings?

No. The timer runs in your browser and nothing is stored or sent to Juno, so your readings are gone when you close the page. Print or copy them first if you want to keep them.

Sources

Last updated 11 October 2026. This page is general information. It does not diagnose and does not replace advice from your own clinician.

Poor man’s tilt table test

Standing test timer

1. Lie down and rest

2. Stand up for 10 minutes

3. How did you feel?

Your results

How to do the poor man’s tilt table test

What the numbers mean

Poor man’s tilt table test, NASA lean test or tilt table test?

Questions

Sources

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