The correlation between blood pressure and hot flashes in menopausal women

BACKGROUND As blood pressure is higher in menopausal women than their peers with similar Body mass index (BMI), and considering hot flashes as one of the most common symptoms of menopause, this study was conducted to examine the 24-hour changes of blood pressure in menopausal women experiencing hot flashes. METHODS This cross-sectional study was performed on 26 menopausal 47-53 year-old women divided into 2 groups of 13. None of them had a history of internal diseases, hypertension, and hormone medications. Their blood pressure and heartbeat were recorded by a blood pressure Holter for 24 hours. The data was analyzed through student t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS(11.5). RESULTS Systolic blood pressure of the symptomatic group was significantly higher than the asymptomatic group during waking hours (P < 0.05). However, the heartbeats and systolic blood pressure of the symptomatic group were higher than those in the other group in 24 hours. This difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION Similar to hot flashes, the increase in systolic blood pressure may arise from central sympathetic activity. Peripheral vasoconstriction and increased cardiac output, both caused by baroreflex dysfunction, might also have been responsible for increments in systolic blood pressure. Therefore, prospective studies are required to determine how the growing increase in blood pressure and the prevalence of hypertension differ in both groups.