PMID: 12920435
BACKGROUND: Findings indicative of a problem with circulation have
been reported in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). We examined
this possibility by measuring the patient's cardiac output and assessing its
relation to presenting symptoms.
METHODS: Impedance cardiography and symptom data were collected from
38 patients with CFS grouped into cases with severe (n = 18) and less severe
(n = 20) illness and compared with those from 27 matched, sedentary control
subjects.
RESULTS: The patients with severe CFS had significantly lower stroke
volume and cardiac output than the controls and less ill patients.
Postexertional fatigue and flu-like symptoms of infection differentiated the
patients with severe CFS from those with less severe CFS (88.5% concordance)
and were predictive (R2 = 0.46, P < 0.0002) of lower cardiac output. In
contrast, neuropsychiatric symptoms showed no specific association with
cardiac output.
CONCLUSIONS: These results provide a preliminary indication of
reduced circulation in patients with severe CFS. Further research is needed
to confirm this finding and to define its clinical implications and
pathogenetic mechanisms.
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