Langsjoen, P H, Langsjoen, P H, Folkers, K · The Clinical investigator · 1993 · DOI
This study looked at heart function in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and compared them to patients with other heart conditions. Researchers found that many of these patients had a specific type of heart problem called diastolic dysfunction—where the heart doesn't relax properly between beats. When patients were given a supplement called CoQ10, their heart function improved and their symptoms got better.
Many ME/CFS patients experience cardiac symptoms including fatigue, chest pain, and palpitations that may relate to diastolic dysfunction—an energy-dependent cardiac process. This study suggests that CoQ10, which plays a critical role in cellular energy production, may improve both cardiac function and symptom severity in ME/CFS patients, potentially offering a therapeutic avenue for this under-treated symptom cluster.
This observational study cannot establish causation or prove that CoQ10 definitively improves diastolic function in ME/CFS; without a placebo control group, improvement could reflect natural history, placebo effect, or concurrent lifestyle changes. The study does not demonstrate that diastolic dysfunction is the primary cause of ME/CFS symptoms, only that it occurs frequently in patients with these symptoms. It also does not identify which ME/CFS patients would most benefit from CoQ10 or provide optimal dosing guidance.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
Spotted an error in this entry? Report it →