Naschitz, Jochanan E, Sabo, Edmond, Naschitz, Shaul et al. · Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism · 2002 · DOI
Researchers developed a simple scoring system to measure how much a person's blood pressure and heart rate fluctuate during a tilt test (where patients lie flat then are tilted upright). They found that ME/CFS patients had much more unstable blood pressure and heart rate compared to healthy people, people with other types of fatigue, and even people who faint unexpectedly. This instability might be a useful marker to help diagnose ME/CFS.
This study provides objective physiological evidence for cardiovascular dysregulation in ME/CFS that distinguishes it from other forms of fatigue and syncope. An objective scoring system could improve diagnosis of ME/CFS, which has historically relied on clinical criteria without specific biomarkers. Understanding these hemodynamic abnormalities may help explain symptoms like orthostatic intolerance and exercise intolerance.
This cross-sectional study does not establish causation or explain why hemodynamic instability occurs in ME/CFS. The findings do not prove that HIS is diagnostic for ME/CFS in all patients, nor do they clarify whether hemodynamic dysfunction is primary to the disease or a secondary consequence. The study cannot determine whether this physiological pattern persists over time or responds to treatment.
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 →
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