Lee, Jihyun, Vernon, Suzanne D, Jeys, Patricia et al. · Journal of translational medicine · 2020 · DOI
This study tested a simple 10-minute standing test called the NASA Lean Test in ME/CFS patients to understand heart and blood vessel problems that cause dizziness and weakness. Researchers found that patients who became sick more recently (within 4 years) showed signs of circulation problems during the test—their hearts beat faster and their blood pressure changed abnormally—while those sick for over 10 years showed fewer of these changes. The NASA Lean Test appears to be a useful tool that doctors can use to diagnose and monitor these circulation problems.
Orthostatic intolerance is a major and often disabling symptom in ME/CFS, yet diagnosis relies on variable and sometimes subjective assessments. This study identifies a simple, objective point-of-care test that may help clinicians diagnose circulatory dysfunction early in ME/CFS and better target treatment. Understanding that early-stage ME/CFS involves specific hemodynamic patterns distinct from long-standing disease could inform both diagnostic approaches and treatment strategies.
This study does not prove that circulatory decompensation causes ME/CFS or that it is present in all ME/CFS patients—only that it appears in a subset with shorter disease duration. The cross-sectional design cannot establish whether hemodynamic changes improve naturally over time or whether patients adapt compensatory mechanisms. The findings cannot be generalized to ME/CFS patients outside this cohort's demographic or geographic characteristics.
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
Lee, Jihyun, Vernon, Suzanne D, Jeys, Patricia, Ali, Weam, Campos, Andrea, Unutmaz, Derya, et al. (2020). Hemodynamics during the 10-minute NASA Lean Test: evidence of circulatory decompensation in a subset of ME/CFS patients.. Journal of translational medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-020-02481-y
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-lee-2020-hemodynamics-during,
author = {Lee, Jihyun and Vernon, Suzanne D and Jeys, Patricia and Ali, Weam and Campos, Andrea and Unutmaz, Derya and Yellman, Brayden and Bateman, Lucinda},
title = {Hemodynamics during the 10-minute NASA Lean Test: evidence of circulatory decompensation in a subset of ME/CFS patients.},
journal = {Journal of translational medicine},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1186/s12967-020-02481-y},
note = {PubMed: 32799889},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lee-2020-hemodynamics-during},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lee-2020-hemodynamics-during
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