ME/CFS South Australia Inc: CFS - Poor heart function could be to blame

ME/CFS SOUTH AUSTRALIA INC

Registered Charity 3104

Email:
sacfs@sacfs.asn.au

Mailing address:
PO Box 322,
Modbury North,
South Australia 5092

Phone:
1300 128 339

Office Hours:
Monday - Friday,
10am - 4pm
(phone)

ME/CFS South Australia Inc supports the needs of sufferers of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and related illnesses. We do this by providing services and information to members.

ME/CFS South Australia Inc aims to keep members informed of various research projects, diets, medications, therapies, news items, etc. All communication, both verbal and written, is merely to disseminate information and not to make recommendations or directives.

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CFS: Poor heart function could be to blame

Friday 15 February 2008

What Doctors Don’t Tell You (WDDTY) reports that “Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) may be linked to reduced heart activity – but researchers aren’t sure if heart function causes CFS, or if it’s the other way round.”

The article goes on:

“But in a new study, led by Arnold Peckerman, found a link between the two when he analysed 38 CFS patients. Of these, 18 had lowered cardiac function, and they were also the ones who suffered the most severe symptoms, such as joint pain, headache, swollen lymph glands and sore throat.

Although the patients’ reduced cardiac functions weren’t clinically significant, Peckerman believes that poor blood circulation may be. In a separate study, he found that some CFS patients are more likely to suffer heart failure.

His study also established that 20 CFS patients didn’t have poor heart function, so why does it affect only some? Peckerman believes that chronic infection can lead to left ventricular dysfunction in a subset of CFS patients, which suggests chronic fatigue symptoms in these people may be the result of poor muscle function in the heart.”