Hollingsworth, Kieren G, Jones, David E J, Taylor, Roy et al. · European journal of clinical investigation · 2010 · DOI
This study found that people with ME/CFS have abnormal heart function when standing up, and their heart and muscle cells struggle to produce energy efficiently. Researchers used specialized scans to measure energy metabolism in the heart and muscles, and found that about one-third of ME/CFS patients showed significant heart energy problems. When standing, ME/CFS patients had stronger heart contractions and more symptoms compared to healthy controls, suggesting their bodies are working much harder to maintain blood flow.
This study provides objective biophysical evidence that ME/CFS involves cardiac energy metabolism dysfunction and abnormal cardiovascular responses to postural stress, bridging the gap between patient-reported orthostatic symptoms and measurable physiological abnormalities. The findings support orthostatic intolerance as a core feature of ME/CFS pathophysiology rather than a psychological symptom, and suggest that cardiac MR spectroscopy may be a useful diagnostic tool with good safety profile.
This study does not prove that impaired cardiac energy metabolism causes ME/CFS symptoms, only that they are associated. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality or determine whether the cardiac dysfunction is primary or secondary to another underlying process. The small sample size for MRS analysis (n=12) limits generalizability, and the study does not distinguish whether abnormal LVWI responses are compensatory or pathological.
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
Hollingsworth, Kieren G, Jones, David E J, Taylor, Roy, Blamire, Andrew M, & Newton, Julia L (2010). Impaired cardiovascular response to standing in chronic fatigue syndrome.. European journal of clinical investigation. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2362.2010.02310.x
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-hollingsworth-2010-impaired-cardiovascular,
author = {Hollingsworth, Kieren G and Jones, David E J and Taylor, Roy and Blamire, Andrew M and Newton, Julia L},
title = {Impaired cardiovascular response to standing in chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {European journal of clinical investigation},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2362.2010.02310.x},
note = {PubMed: 20497461},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hollingsworth-2010-impaired-cardiovascular},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hollingsworth-2010-impaired-cardiovascular
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