Survey study, 2021
Do women with PMS have different heart rate and blood pressure responses?
Yes. During the week before the period, women with PMS showed a clear increase in heart rate and blood pressure responses compared to women without PMS.
What they did
Researchers compared women with PMS to women without PMS who were the same age. They used a questionnaire to assess physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms, then tested how their heart rate and blood pressure responded to stress using a handgrip test and a test for orthostatic hypotension.
What they found
During the follicular phase (first half of cycle), women with PMS had slightly higher heart rate and blood pressure responses, but this was not a clear difference. During the luteal phase (second half of cycle, before the period), women with PMS showed a clear increase in heart rate and blood pressure responses compared to women without PMS.
What it means for you
Women with PMS appear to have stronger physical stress responses during the second half of their cycle. This could explain why PMS symptoms feel worse before the period. A major limitation is that the study did not report how many women were studied, making it difficult to know how reliable these findings are.
2
phases of menstrual cycle studied
luteal phase
showed clear increase in heart rate and blood pressure
About the study
- Original title
- Assessment of cardiovascular sympathetic function tests in premenstrual syndrome patients visiting tertiary care hospital: A case–control study
- Authors
- Megha Kulshreshtha, Naveen Gaur, Varuna Gupta et al.
- Journal
- Asian Journal of Medical Sciences
- Year
- 2021
- Study design
- Survey study
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v12i12.39593
Topics
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