The American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription now includes a section on ME/CFS.
The guidelines were released on the use of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in research and clinical practice for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
MEA Comment
MEA Comment
This is a useful summary from the Bateman Horne Centre in America on the pros and cons of using a two day cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) in the assessment and diagnosis of people with ME/CFS.
Key points:
- CPET can provide useful information to support a diagnosis of ME/CFS as well as demonstrating that exercise can produce a significant decrease in physical performance and a symptom exacerbation which is delayed to the following day (ie post exertional malaise).
- As CPET involves physical exercise and exertion it can cause an exacerbation or even a relapse of ME/CFS symptoms
- The NICE guideline on ME/CFS does not therefore recommend that a two day CPET should form part of the list of investigations that are routinely carried out when a diagnosis of ME/CFS is suspected.
- Here in the UK a CPET is mainly regarded as a research tool and is not usually available on the NHS for either diagnosis or disability assessment purposes.