Duprez, D A, De Buyzere, M L, Drieghe, B et al. · Clinical science (London, England : 1979) · 1998 · DOI
Researchers compared blood pressure and heart rate patterns in people with ME/CFS to healthy controls. They found that people with ME/CFS had normal blood pressure readings, but their heart rates were consistently higher. When lying down, people with ME/CFS also showed reduced variability in blood pressure patterns compared to healthy controls.
Understanding cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction in ME/CFS may explain exercise intolerance and symptomatic worsening in some patients. These findings suggest potential mechanisms involving heart rate dysregulation and blood pressure control that could guide future therapeutic interventions.
This study does not prove that elevated heart rate causes ME/CFS symptoms or that it is the primary mechanism of the disease. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causation, and normal BP readings do not rule out orthostatic intolerance or other forms of autonomic dysfunction that might emerge during or after exertion.
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
Duprez, D A, De Buyzere, M L, Drieghe, B, Vanhaverbeke, F, Taes, Y, Michielsen, W, et al. (1998). Long- and short-term blood pressure and RR-interval variability and psychosomatic distress in chronic fatigue syndrome.. Clinical science (London, England : 1979). https://doi.org/10.1042/cs0940057
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-duprez-1998-long-short,
author = {Duprez, D A and De Buyzere, M L and Drieghe, B and Vanhaverbeke, F and Taes, Y and Michielsen, W and Clement, D L},
title = {Long- and short-term blood pressure and RR-interval variability and psychosomatic distress in chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Clinical science (London, England : 1979)},
year = {1998},
doi = {10.1042/cs0940057},
note = {PubMed: 9505867},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/duprez-1998-long-short},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/duprez-1998-long-short
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