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10-minute standing test

Many people with ME/CFS tolerate standing poorly: the pulse rises sharply, blood pressure falls, or they become dizzy. With this simple test you can measure at home how your circulation responds to ten minutes of standing still. You enter the values below and see the evaluation immediately.

First the instructions, then the record sheet to fill in.

For your safety. Do not carry out the test alone; a second person takes the measurements and supports you if necessary. If you notice that you might faint, or if severe complaints or chest pain occur: sit or lie down immediately and note the minute. Stopping early is not a failure but an important result.

Do not do the test if you cannot stand without help or have recently fainted while standing. Please discuss this with us.

What you need

  • an automatic upper-arm blood pressure monitor (wrist devices are inaccurate when standing)
  • a clock or timer
  • a second person to take the measurements and note the values
  • a clear stretch of wall with a couch, sofa or bed next to it

Preparation

  • Preferably in the morning, on a day that is ordinary for you.
  • No large meal, coffee, cigarette or physical exertion in the two hours beforehand. Drink as usual.
  • Take your medicines as usual and note them down. Do not leave anything out without consulting a doctor.
  • The test can make complaints worse for some time. Plan to rest afterwards.

Procedure

  1. Lying down, 10 minutes. Put the cuff on your upper arm and lie quietly on your back for ten minutes.
  2. Two measurements lying down, at minute 9 and at minute 10: upper and lower blood pressure value and pulse.
  3. Standing up. Stand up briskly and lean with your shoulders against the wall. Your heels are about 15 cm from the wall, your arms hang loosely. The clock now starts at zero.
  4. Stand for ten minutes, measuring every minute. Do not move your legs and speak as little as possible. The second person supports the arm with the cuff at heart level and measures at minute 1, 2, 3 … up to 10.
  5. Note any complaints that occur while standing, and whether your feet or legs turn bluish-red.
  6. Then lie down and recover.

10-minute standing test · Seegarten Klinik Name:

Record sheet

Nothing is transmitted while you enter the values. The evaluation is calculated by your own browser; only when you expressly press “Send to the clinic” do your values go to us.

Minute Upper value mmHg Lower value mmHg Pulse per min Pulse rise
Lying down
Minute 9
Minute 10
Standing
Minute 1
Minute 2
Minute 3
Minute 4
Minute 5
Minute 6
Minute 7
Minute 8
Minute 9
Minute 10
Did you manage the full ten minutes?

Which complaints occurred while standing?

Evaluation

No values yet. The evaluation appears here as soon as you have entered a pulse lying down and the first values standing.

Keep the result

You can print the record sheet with the evaluation and bring it to your appointment. Or you can send it to us; then we will already have it at the consultation.

Send to the clinic

For this we need your name and an email address. Your details go to Seegarten Klinik and nowhere else; what happens to them is explained in the privacy policy.

By sending, you transmit your values and the evaluation to us.

What the evaluation is based on

The procedure follows the 10-minute standing test (“NASA Lean Test”) as described by the Bateman Horne Center for ME/CFS. The thresholds come from the consensus papers on orthostatic hypotension and postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS):

  • A rise in pulse while standing of 30 or more beats per minute compared with lying down (in adolescents aged 12 to 19, of 40 or more)
  • A fall in the upper blood pressure value of 20 mmHg or in the lower value of 10 mmHg in the first 3 minutes; later it is regarded as delayed
  • Pulse pressure (upper minus lower value) below 25 % of the upper value

The value lying down is the average of the two measurements.

Sources

  • Bateman Horne Center: 10 Minute NASA Lean Test – instructions for healthcare professionals (Salt Lake City).
  • Freeman R. et al.: Consensus statement on the definition of orthostatic hypotension, neurally mediated syncope and the postural tachycardia syndrome. Clinical Autonomic Research 2011; 21: 69–72.
  • Sheldon R. S. et al.: 2015 Heart Rhythm Society expert consensus statement on the diagnosis and treatment of postural tachycardia syndrome, inappropriate sinus tachycardia, and vasovagal syncope. Heart Rhythm 2015; 12: e41–e63.

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