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Updated: Jun 29, 2025
Tilt Testing with Combined Lower Body Negative Pressure: a "Gold Standard" for Measuring Orthostatic Tolerance
Published on: March 21, 2013
The Head-Up Tilt Table Test as a Measure of Autonomic Functioning among Patients with Myalgic
Leonard A Jason1, William J McGarrigle2, Ruud C W Vermeulen3
1Department of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USA.
Abstract:
Individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) often experience autonomic symptoms. In the present study, we evaluated 193 adults seeking treatment for ME/CFS, who were recruited from an outpatient clinic. The participants completed a head-up tilt table test to assess two common types of orthostatic intolerance, namely, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and orthostatic hypotension (OH). During the tilt test, 32.5% of the participants demonstrated POTS or OH. The participants with either of these two common types of orthostatic intolerance were found to have more problems with sleep and post-exertional malaise as assessed by the DePaul Symptom Questionnaire; these patients also reported more physical and health function limitations. The implications of the findings are discussed.
