Bond, Joshua, Nielsen, Tessa, Hodges, Lynette · International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021 · DOI
This study tested whether intense exercise affects blood vessel function differently in people with ME/CFS compared to healthy individuals. Researchers found that while healthy people's blood vessels became more flexible after exercise, people with ME/CFS did not experience this same improvement, suggesting their blood vessels may not be responding normally to physical stress.
This research provides mechanistic insight into post-exertional malaise by identifying a potential vascular dysfunction that may explain why ME/CFS patients struggle with exercise recovery. Understanding that blood vessel impairment may underlie PEM could guide future therapeutic interventions and validates patients' experiences of disproportionate symptom exacerbation following physical activity.
This study does not prove that vascular dysfunction is the sole cause of PEM—other physiological systems (mitochondrial, immune, neurological) may contribute. The small sample size and lack of statistical significance in crPWV improvements limit generalizability. The study demonstrates association, not definitive causation, and cannot exclude confounding variables or individual variability in vascular response.
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 →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Bond, Joshua, Nielsen, Tessa, & Hodges, Lynette (2021). Effects of Post-Exertional Malaise on Markers of Arterial Stiffness in Individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. International journal of environmental research and public health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052366
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-bond-2021-effects-post,
author = {Bond, Joshua and Nielsen, Tessa and Hodges, Lynette},
title = {Effects of Post-Exertional Malaise on Markers of Arterial Stiffness in Individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {International journal of environmental research and public health},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.3390/ijerph18052366},
note = {PubMed: 33671082},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bond-2021-effects-post},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bond-2021-effects-post
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