Cardiovascular characteristics of chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract

Abstract.Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) commonly exhibit orthostatic intolerance. Abnormal sympathetic predominance in the autonomic cardiovascular response to gravitational stimuli was previously described in numerous studies. The aim of the current study was to describe cardiological and clinical characteristics of Italian patients with CFS. All of the patients were of Caucasian ethnicity and had been referred to our center, the Cardiology Department of the University Hospital of Pavia (Pavia, Italy) with suspected CFS. A total of 44 patients with suspected CFS were included in the present study and the diagnosis was confirmed in 19 patients according to recent clinical guidelines. The characteristics at baseline of the population confirm findings from various previous reports regarding the prevalence in females with a female to male ratio of 4:1, the age of onset of the pathology and the presence of previous infection by the Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus and other human herpesviruses. Despite the current data indicating that the majority of the cardiological parameters investigated are not significantly different in patients with and without CFS, a significant association between the disease and low levels of blood pressure was identified. Other pilot studies revealed a higher prevalence of hypotension and orthostatic intolerance in patients with CFS. Furthermore, many of the CFS symptoms, including fatigue, vertigo, decreased concentration, tremors and nausea, may be explained by hypotension.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome—Metabolic Disease or Disturbed Homeostasis due to Focal Inflammation in the Hypothalamus?

“…Approximately half of patients with ME/CFS also appear to have a previously undiagnosed medical condition, most often diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and thyroid diseases (Maloney et al, 2009). Few studies have investigated the possible associations between MetS and ME/CFS (Maloney et al, 2009;Naviaux et al, 2016;Germain et al, 2017;Bozzini et al, 2018). It was first suggested that patients with ME/CFS were twice as likely to have MetS compared with controls, after adjusting for body mass index, waist circumference, triglycerides, and glucose levels (Maloney et al, 2009).…”

“…Dysautonomia including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome may be present in many patients with ME/CFS (Hollingsworth et al, 2010) and could also explain other ME/CFS symptoms, such as fatigue, vertigo, decreased concentration, tremors, and nausea (Bozzini et al, 2018). Interestingly, the low systolic blood pressure observed in ME/CFS patients is usually accompanied by exaggerated diurnal variation, which is inversely correlated with increasing fatigue (Davis et al, 2000;Newton et al, 2009).…”

Systematic Review of Sleep Characteristics in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

“…This suggests contribution of RR interval dynamics, an electrocardiogram parameter or autonomic nervous system activity during non-REM sleep to disrupted sleep in ME/CFS patients [ 27 ]. Additional studies have shown the potential role of cardiovascular regulation in the pathomechanism of ME/CFS [ 27 , 55 ]. ME/CFS patients presented with increased heart rate, and reduced heart rate variability.…”

COVID-19 Pandemic: Cardiovascular Complications and Future Implications

“…Psychiatric morbidities, including chronic fatigue syndrome, were also reported in patients who recovered from SARS [100]. Given the strong association between psychiatric conditions, such as depression and chronic fatigue syndrome, and CVD, such as chronic HF and cardiac arrhythmias, the evidence backing long-term CV sequelae of these infections appears compelling [101][102][103][104].…”