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It's not often the popular quiz show Jeopardy! is the subject of controversy for their questions and answers.
But Savannah Guthrie, the current guest host of the show, read a clue that included an ableist, inaccurate and outdated term for a medical condition.
The clue read:
"Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is also known as Grinch Syndrome because this organ is too small."
The Grinch's heart, according to the popular book and films, is "three sizes too small."
But Guthrie and the producers of Jeopardy! soon found out there was some major controversy surrounding referring to Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) as "Grinch Syndrome."
This question about Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome tonight is inaccurate. Please contact @Dysautonomia to collaborate on raising awareness. POTS patients have a difficult time as is being taken seriously. Let's educate the world with accurate info.pic.twitter.com/EtS3LIvwhY— MandaPanda (@MandaPanda) 1624322608
Hey @Jeopardy no one with any credibility calls POTS "Grinch Syndrome." Promoting outdated misogynistic terms to describe a debilitating autonomic nervous system disorder that impacts millions of Americans is not cool.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.— Dysautonomia Intl. (@Dysautonomia Intl.) 1624322840
This appeared on Jeopardy tonight. Grinch syndrome is an offensive term. Can you imagine Jeopardy making light of cancer or MS patients with a "funny" name for their debilitating health condition? Not acceptable. We'd love to see real questions about the autonomic nervous system.pic.twitter.com/kqetij1Jwx— Dysautonomia Intl. (@Dysautonomia Intl.) 1624323248
Dear @Jeopardy -I am a 25 yr experienced RN with POTS syndrome. I am disappointed and, frankly, offended that you would infer I am a grinch or small-hearted. This needs redaction. @CTV_AvisFavaro @theresaboyle @picardonhealth— Morgan Gregory\ud83d\udcda\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@Morgan Gregory\ud83d\udcda\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6) 1624386220
It\u2019s really not. From what I\u2019m seeing it was coined from a skewed study with few people. So the hypothesis that the dude \u201cproved\u201d of a small heart causing POTS is incorrect. To me it looks like he built a sample in order to prove what he wanted (which is so not scientific)— disablednerd \ud83c\udf08 (@disablednerd \ud83c\udf08) 1624369014
POTS "occurs mostly in younger women, and also includes elevated heart rate, extreme fatigue and lightheadedness as other common symptoms," according to Yahoo! .
It is not currently associated with heart size and has recently been triggered in several patients who have recovered from COVID-19.
FYI if you are wondering where \u201cGrinch syndrome\u201d comes from\n\nIt was coined by Levine and co at @texashealth @UTSWNews who think that deconditioning causes POTS, and that their 8-month, 5x/week exercise protocol reverses it\u2026\n\nNevermind the 60% dropout rate in their trial— Cyrus (@Cyrus) 1624337716
I\u2019ve lived with POTS for almost 20 years and have never heard of it being called grinch syndrome. And I don\u2019t have an organ that is too small. Usually I\u2019m learning things from Jeopardy but it seems like you still have some things to learn..— Mito Girl (@Mito Girl) 1624337117
Lol, it's not so much offensive as just silly. Nobody calls it that because POTS is nothing to do with heart size. It's little to do with the heart at all, but rather vascular laxity, vascular smooth muscle strength, leg musculature, blood volume, & autonomic dysfunction.— Correctrix laborans (@Correctrix laborans) 1624375833
I've literally Never heard it called that\nWtaf\nI have a close friend with POTS who was diagnosed halfway through high school (over a decade ago now)— Taylor \u2728 (@Taylor \u2728) 1624323426
Also wtf pretty sure my POTS is not caused by having an abnormally small heart? Otherwise I am certain the cardiologists would have mentioned this to me during my ultrasound or my other Dr when they diagnosed me w POTS... no mention of small heart size ever made— MB (@MB) 1624361900
Following the backlash, Jeopardy! issued an apology over their social media.
They wrote:
"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."
Yesterday\u2019s 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.— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy!) 1624388709
Thank you for the apology. However, we still don't have an explanation as to how this term made it to air. It's a term almost everyone with POTS hasn't even heard of.\nIf there were more disabled and chronically-ill people working for you, this wouldn't have happened.— Lillie Lainoff (@Lillie Lainoff) 1624389525
Thank you @Jeopardy. We accept your apology and appreciate that you were willing to listen to our patient community. We'd love to see some autonomic nervous system clues in the future! We encourage everyone to learn about POTS by watching this brief video:https://vimeo.com/187404694— Dysautonomia Intl. (@Dysautonomia Intl.) 1624390679
Would also love an acknowledgement/correction of the fact that the whole small heart thing is blatantly *wrong* and spreading medical misinformation like that can have real and dangerous consequences for patients.— devon (@devon) 1624397553
2/3 With POTS being a lesser known condition (especially when I was diagnosed, before ovid), this may be the 1st many people have heard of it. The inaccurate clue makes it sound like a joke disease for mean people! This won't help people take us seriously!— Laura A (@Laura A) 1624399783
For more information on POTS, Dysautonomia International's page contains history, causes and classifications of the condition.