scholarly journals Cerebral Blood Flow and Heart Rate Variability in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Randomized Cross-Over Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (21;1) ◽  
pp. E13-E24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anneleen Malfliet
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Blood Flow ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Temporal Summation ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Pain Modulation ◽  
Control Group ◽  
P Values ◽  
Fatigue Syndrome

Background: Pain, fatigue, and concentration difficulties are typical features of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The exact underlying mechanisms of these symptoms are still unknown, but available evidence suggests an important role for impaired pain modulation. As evidence also suggests that pain modulation is related to cardiovascular mechanisms, it seems logical to investigate whether cerebral blood flow (CBF) and heart rate variability (HRV) are altered in these patients. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the role of the cardiovascular system in pain modulation and symptoms of CFS; the response of CBF and HRV to physical stress and their relation to the change in temporal summation (TS) of pressure pain and selfreported symptoms was evaluated. Study Design: A controlled, randomized cross-over trial. Setting: University Hospital Brussels. Methods: Twenty CFS patients and 20 sedentary healthy controls were included in this study. In both of the groups, the change in TS of pressure pain, CBF (using transcranial Doppler), and HRV (using finger plethysmography) was examined during physical and emotional stress (to control for potential bias), as well as their association mutually and with self-reported symptoms of pain, fatigue, and concentrations difficulties. Results: There was no significant interaction or group (F-values ranging from .100 to 1.862, P-values ranging from .754 to .181) effect in CBF or HRV parameters. HRV and CBF did change during physical exercise, but the changes did not differ between patients and controls. While pain scores during TS at the trapezius site reduced in the control group after the physical exercise protocol (P = .037), they did not change in the CFS group (P = .108), suggesting impaired pain modulation. There were no significant correlations between CBF, HRV, TS, and self-reported symptoms (all P-values of correlation analyses > .01). Limitations: Although effect sizes were medium to large, the study sample was relatively low. Also, the mild nature of the exercise bout is discussable. Nonetheless, this mild exercise was able to provoke endogenous pain modulation in the control group, which endorsed a proper execution of the cycling exercise. Moreover, mild exercises are more applicable to daily physical activities in CFS patients than vigorous exercises. Conclusion: These results seem to refute the previously suggested alterations of CBF/ HRV in CFS patients. These cardiovascular parameters appear not to explain pain before, during, and following exercise. Key words: Chronic pain, physical exercise, emotional stress, pain modulation, cardiovascular systems, temporal summation, pain pressure thresholds, transcranial Doppler, plethysmography

scholarly journals Reduced heart rate variability predicts fatigue severity in individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa María Escorihuela ◽  
Lluís Capdevila ◽  
Juan Ramos Castro ◽  
María Cleofé Zaragozà ◽  
Sara Maurel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Frequency Domain ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Potential Biomarker ◽  
Fatigue Severity

Abstract Background Heart rate variability (HRV) is an objective, non-invasive tool to assessing autonomic dysfunction in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). People with CFS/ME tend to have lower HRV; however, in the literature there are only a few previous studies (most of them inconclusive) on their association with illness-related complaints. To address this issue, we assessed the value of different diurnal HRV parameters as potential biomarker in CFS/ME and also investigated the relationship between these HRV indices and self-reported symptoms in individuals with CFS/ME. Methods In this case–control study, 45 female patients who met the 1994 CDC/Fukuda definition for CFS/ME and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy controls underwent HRV recording-resting state tests. The intervals between consecutive heartbeats (RR) were continuously recorded over three 5-min periods. Time- and frequency-domain analyses were applied to estimate HRV variables. Demographic and clinical features, and self-reported symptom measures were also recorded. Results CFS/ME patients showed significantly higher scores in all symptom questionnaires (p < 0.001), decreased RR intervals (p < 0.01), and decreased HRV time- and frequency-domain parameters (p < 0.005), except for the LF/HF ratio than in the healthy controls. Overall, the correlation analysis reached significant associations between the questionnaires scores and HRV time- and frequency-domain measurements (p < 0.05). Furthermore, separate linear regression analyses showed significant relationships between self-reported fatigue symptoms and mean RR (p = 0.005), RMSSD (p = 0.0268) and HFnu indices (p = 0.0067) in CFS/ME patients, but not in healthy controls. Conclusions Our findings suggest that ANS dysfunction presenting as increased sympathetic hyperactivity may contribute to fatigue severity in individuals with ME/CFS. Further studies comparing short- and long-term HRV recording and self-reported outcome measures with previous studies in larger CFS/ME cohorts are urgently warranted.

scholarly journals Effect of physical exercise on cardiac autonomic modulation in the elderly: systematic review

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-386
Author(s):  
Amilton Da Cruz Santos ◽  
Adriana Sarmento De Oliveira ◽  
Maria Do Socorro Brasileiro-Santos
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Blood Flow ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Muscle Blood Flow ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Autonomic Modulation ◽  
Cardiac Autonomic Modulation ◽  
Insuficiencia Cardiaca

Objetivo: Avaliar as evidências científicas disponíveis a respeito do efeito do exercício físico sobre a resposta vasodilatadora muscular e a modulação autonômica cardíaca em idosos. Métodos: Os artigos selecionados estavam indexados nas bases PubMed/MEDLINE, SCIELO e LILACS. Foram utilizados os descritores “exercise” e “aged”, e as palavras-chaves “vasodilator response muscular”, “muscle blood flow”, “heart rate variability” e “cardiac autonomic modulation”. Resultados: Foram encontrados 1.686 textos, destes, apenas cinco foram considerados elegíveis. Todos avaliaram a modulação autonômica cardíaca e um deles avaliou a resposta vasodilatadora muscular concomitantemente. Conclusões: Esta revisão indica que o exercício físico pode ser eficaz na melhora da modulação autonômica cardíaca em idosos saudáveis e em idosos após evento cardiovascular agudo, com prognóstico favorável, com insuficiência cardíaca e com fibrilação atrial crônica. Aditivamente em idosos com insuficiência cardíaca, o exercício físico também foi eficaz na melhora da resposta vasodilatadora muscular.

The Relationship Between Spectral Changes in Heart Rate Variability and Fatigue

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Tran ◽  
Nirupama Wijesuriya ◽  
Mika Tarvainen ◽  
Pasi Karjalainen ◽  
Ashley Craig
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Common Symptom ◽  
Healthy Individuals ◽  
Spectral Changes ◽  
Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Experienced Fatigue ◽  
Sympathetic Arousal

Fatigue is a prevalent problem in the workplace and a common symptom of many diseases. However, its relationship with the autonomic nervous system, specifically with sympathetic arousal, needs clarification. The objective of this study was to determine the association between fatigue and heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is regarded as an indicator of the autonomic regulation activity of heart rate, specifically sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. Spectral changes in low-frequency (LF; 0.04–0.15 Hz) and high-frequency (HF; 0.15–0.4 Hz) components of HRV have been reported to be associated with distressing conditions such as hemorrhagic shock, acute myocardial infarction, elevated anxiety, and depressed mood. While HRV changes have been found in persons with chronic fatigue syndrome, its association with fatigue in healthy individuals still needs clarification. HRV was assessed in a total of 50 participants who were asked to perform a task until becoming fatigued. Low-frequency HRV activity increased, while indices of parasympathetic modulation such as RMSSD and pNN50 remained stable as participants experienced fatigue, suggesting that fatigue in healthy individuals may be associated with increased sympathetic arousal. In addition, employing multiple regression analyses, we could positively associate the change in LF/HF HRV ratio from baseline to fatigue with factors such as emotional stability, warmth and tension and negatively associate it with social boldness and self-reported levels of vigor.

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