Tomas, Cara, Finkelmeyer, Andreas, Hodgson, Tim et al. · Open heart · 2017 · DOI
This study found that people with ME/CFS have higher levels of a hormone called BNP (brain natriuretic peptide) in their blood compared to healthy people without the condition. Interestingly, those with higher BNP levels had smaller heart chambers, which suggests their hearts may be working differently in ME/CFS. The researchers believe this finding is related to the condition itself, not simply from being inactive.
This study provides objective physiological evidence of cardiac dysfunction in ME/CFS, moving beyond subjective symptoms to measurable biological abnormalities. If BNP can be validated as a biomarker, it could help stratify ME/CFS patients for targeted treatments and provide clinical criteria for diagnosis and monitoring.
This study does not prove that elevated BNP causes ME/CFS symptoms or that it is specific to ME/CFS. It is a cross-sectional study showing association only, not causation, and the small control sample (n=10) limits the strength of conclusions about whether these findings distinguish ME/CFS from other conditions. Whether BNP elevation contributes to symptom severity or disease progression remains unclear.
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
Tomas, Cara, Finkelmeyer, Andreas, Hodgson, Tim, MacLachlan, Laura, MacGowan, Guy A, Blamire, Andrew M, et al. (2017). Elevated brain natriuretic peptide levels in chronic fatigue syndrome associate with cardiac dysfunction: a case control study.. Open heart. https://doi.org/10.1136/openhrt-2017-000697
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-tomas-2017-elevated-brain,
author = {Tomas, Cara and Finkelmeyer, Andreas and Hodgson, Tim and MacLachlan, Laura and MacGowan, Guy A and Blamire, Andrew M and Newton, Julia L},
title = {Elevated brain natriuretic peptide levels in chronic fatigue syndrome associate with cardiac dysfunction: a case control study.},
journal = {Open heart},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1136/openhrt-2017-000697},
note = {PubMed: 29344367},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/tomas-2017-elevated-brain},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/tomas-2017-elevated-brain
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