“Jeopardy!” has responded after a clue from Monday night’s episode led to some backlash from fans.
‘Jeopardy!’ clue about POTS
During Monday night’s “Jeopardy!” episode, guest host Savannah Guthrie read the following clue from a category titled “Plain-named Maladies”: “Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is also known as Grinch Syndrome because this organ is too small,” Fox News reported.
The answer “Jeopardy!” was looking for: “What is the heart?”
But several viewers who have the condition — which primarily affects women ages 13-50 — argued that the clue is incorrect and even “misogynistic.”
“Hey @Jeopardy no one with any credibility calls POTS “Grinch Syndrome,” Dysautonomia International, a nonprofit that promotes awareness of autonomic nervous system disorders, wrote on Twitter. “Promoting outdated misogynistic terms to describe a debilitating autonomic nervous system disorder that impacts millions of Americans is not cool. We request an apology on behalf of our community. Do better.”
On Tuesday, “Jeopardy!” issued a statement regarding the clue: “Yesterday’s program included a clue about postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). After hearing from the community, we found we used an outdated and inaccurate term for this disorder, and we apologize,” the show posted on its social media accounts.
What is POTS?
- According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, POTS is a manageable blood circulation disorder that affects anywhere from 1 million to 3 million Americans.
- There’s been an increase in POTS diagnoses among COVID-19 patients, Yahoo Entertainment reported. While raising awareness of the condition can be beneficial, many “Jeopardy!” viewers were upset with how it was referenced on the long-running quiz show.
- In adults, POTS involves a heart rate increase of at least 30 beats per minute measured within the first 10 minutes of going from a horizontal position to standing (for adolescents, this measurement increases to at least 40 beats per minute).
- But most patients who have POTS have a normal heart structure, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Symptoms that arise — including lightheadedness (with occasional fainting), fatigue, headache, blurred vision, palpitations, tremors and nausea — can stem from a number of factors, including elevated levels of certain hormones and lower amount of blood in the circulation.
- While there isn’t a known cure for POTS, the disorder can often be managed with diet, exercise and medications, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.