A woman with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome ( POTS ) has shared the scary moment she fainted mid- workout on the StairMaster. Karina Drury, who has more than 1.4m followers on TikTok , has become known for her honest content about being diagnosed with POTS, a specific type of orthostatic intolerance.
Her videos often show the frightening times she’s unexpectedly fainted in public and the necessary protocol she follows during the onset. Whether it’s at a coffee shop or in the gym, Drury is typically by herself during the moment she faints due to POTS. However, in her viral TikTok video – which has accumulated more than 13.
8m views since it was posted on August 19 – she shared footage of the moment she fainted during her fitness routine, and how her husband was there to help. In the video, Drury is seen walking on the machine and lifting her feet carefully as each stair pulls down. When she noticed that her heartbeat had started to speed up, she gripped the side railings for support and stability.
“When I feel it happening, I hit the emergency stop. This stops it all at once rather than stopping slowly for a cool down,” she explained, as she was seen slowly climbing off the machine. She then positioned herself on the floor with her back on the ground and her legs in a butterfly position, using the railings for control as she got down.
Drury admitted she uses a StairMaster with multiple bars to hold in case she needs to quickly descend. “My heart is raci.