Chronic fatigue syndrome: People with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) frequently show disordered breathing patterns that may worsen symptoms and offer a target for treatment, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report.
In a study published in Frontiers in Medicine, investigators monitored 57 ME/CFS patients and 25 healthy controls during two days of cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Although patients took in similar amounts of oxygen as controls, 71% of those with ME/CFS displayed either hyperventilation, dysfunctional breathing, or both.
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Dysfunctional breathing was observed as deep sighing during otherwise normal respiration, rapid or shallow breaths that never fully ventilate the lungs, and poor coordination between chest and abdominal movements, limiting how well breathing muscles work together.
Both dysfunctional breathing and hyperventilation can mimic or amplify hallmark ME/CFS symptoms, including dizziness, shortness of breath, difficulty focusing, exhaustion, palpitations, chest pain, fatigue and anxiety.
“Patients can have dysfunctional breathing without being aware of it. It can occur even at rest,” said study author Dr Donna Mancini. The team said these abnormalities could worsen, or even directly contribute to, post-exertional malaise, the delayed symptom flare that follows physical or mental activity in ME/CFS.
