Sex hormones regulate not only reproductive function, they influence organs and tissues, mucous membranes. The coordinated work of all systems and organs in a healthy woman does not lead to noticeable changes during one cycle. often various disturbances in the balance of sex hormones , especially obvious symptoms in the cardiovascular system. Fluctuations in the level of estrogens, gestagens and androgens lead to various changes - spasms and, conversely, dilation of blood vessels, which affects blood pressure.
On the eve of critical days, many women note a slight increase in blood pressure and a deterioration in their health. And in the presence of arterial hypertension, its course can become poorly controlled. Causes of increased blood pressure:
- Manifestations of PMS. An increase in circulating blood volume leads to an increase in heart function and blood pressure. You should start taking diuretics (at least herbs, herbs), follow a diet and take sedatives in advance.
- Premenopausal period. Estrogen receptors, which are located in the vascular endothelium, do not receive the required dose of the hormone, resulting in their spasm. The result of this action is an increase in blood pressure. These may be fluctuations or a persistent increase in numbers.
- Stress, psycho-emotional lability. In the second phase of the cycle, women are more susceptible to external influences. Stress, overwork, physical strain, domestic and family disagreements lead to disruption of blood pressure regulation at the level of the cerebral cortex
A decrease in pressure on the eve of critical days is more typical for young girls prone to hypotension. Most often they are of asthenic build, melancholic, and prone to depression. A decrease in blood pressure may be associated with the action of progesterone, taking analogue drugs - Utrozhestan, Duphaston and others. A decrease in blood pressure may be one of the manifestations of premenstrual syndrome.
In many ways, a woman’s condition is influenced by the nature of her menstruation; blood pressure can increase, but more often it tends to decrease. High blood pressure numbers are associated with ongoing symptoms of PMS due to the accumulation of fluid in the body and emotional lability. A decrease in blood pressure during menstruation is due to the following: heavy discharge, severe pain, taking medications, diet.
In healthy women, the numbers do not exceed 130/80 mmHg. Correcting your lifestyle, nutrition, and taking medications will help you cope with hesitation. If the readings are higher than indicated or lower than 90/60 mmHg, you should consult a doctor for a detailed examination and to exclude serious diseases.
Read more in our article about the reasons for changes in blood pressure during menstruation.
The relationship between the cardiovascular and reproductive systems in women
Hormones responsible for the proper development of a woman’s menstrual cycle are always present in her body. They have a significant impact on reproductive processes and also help in the regular retreat of the uterine endometrium. The ratio of these sex hormones in a woman’s body changes throughout the entire cycle: before, during and even after menstruation.
Sex hormones depend on the influence of the brain and adrenal hormones, and vice versa. This is due to the fact that adrenaline, aldosterone and glucocorticoids produced by the endocrine system affect the tone of blood vessels and are actively involved in regulating blood pressure. For this reason, many women notice a drop or increase in blood pressure not only during menstruation, but also before it begins.
The relationship between pressure and critical days
Menstruation occurs due to the constant production of hormones of the reproductive system. They are responsible for the detachment of the uterine lining. Blood pressure is the force of blood pressing on the vessels. The process of increasing or decreasing blood pressure is regulated by hormonal and nervous factors. Some hormones can affect the condition of blood vessels, so a person’s blood pressure is closely related to the functioning of the reproductive system. During menstruation, a woman’s hormonal background undergoes changes and, as a result, blood pressure jumps.
Pressure changes during menstruation are absolutely normal. There is no need to worry about this, since after menstruation the blood pressure returns to normal.
Before menstruation
With the onset of menstruation, progesterone always increases. This is a physiologically active substance produced by the endocrine system, which creates favorable conditions for the hatching of the embryo in the uterus. It relaxes its internal mucous membrane, preparing it to receive a fertilized egg, and also improves blood circulation in the pelvic organs, dilating blood vessels and participating in the formation of new branches necessary for the successful development of the unborn child.
Vasodilation leads to increased blood pressure. Normally, its value should be 120/80 mmHg. Art., but for many women it is much higher or lower.
How to regulate blood pressure during menstruation
The relationship between blood pressure and menstruation has been proven, but an increase or decrease in blood pressure may be a consequence of the influence of other factors. You need to listen to your body during your period. When alarming symptoms of changes in blood pressure appear, it is important to be able to take action and help yourself.
At the first signs of increased blood pressure, you should resort to taking a painkiller. During your period, you should not put stress on your body or engage in excessive physical activity. You should rest more time and remain in a relaxed state.
Quick help with low levels is the use of appropriate drugs to increase blood pressure, for example, analgesics. Citramon helps normalize blood pressure.
Common consequences of blood pressure surges are heavy bleeding and weakness of the body. Rest and healthy sleep will help bring your blood pressure back to normal.
Why does the pressure rise?
High blood pressure can be caused by the following reasons:
- Violation of the water-salt balance of the body, stagnation of fluid in the tissues and resulting tension in the blood vessels;
- constant changes in blood vessels and the active pulsation of blood they cause;
- Significant decrease in serotonin levels in the body.
In the first case, the woman begins to swell greatly, in the second her heartbeat quickens and she feels slight pain behind the sternum, in the third she becomes the subject of frequent emotional outbursts, and sometimes even falls into hysterics.
How to help reduce blood pressure
When the headache increases, it is necessary to begin taking measures to eliminate it. Otherwise, the condition may worsen sharply.
Recommendations:
- Rejection of bad habits. Alcohol and cigarettes have a negative effect on blood vessels.
- Let's take analgesics before the onset of menstruation: Analgin, Ibuprofen.
- During menstruation, antispasmodic drugs are used that expand the vascular wall: Papaverine, Drotaverine.ya
- Reduced swelling. Avoiding salty and sweet foods will help with this. Don't drink a lot of water at night. Take a contrast shower. It is not recommended to visit baths and saunas.
If blood pressure rises, what contributes to this?
Increased blood pressure often occurs due to narrowing of blood vessels caused by decreased serotonin levels. In addition, fluid in the body puts pressure on the walls of blood vessels, which increases blood pressure.
According to doctors, other reasons can cause high blood pressure:
- changes associated with the processes of distribution, absorption and excretion of water and mineral salts in the body;
- dystrophic disorders of cartilaginous joints and intestinal diseases;
- existing heart and vascular diseases;
- hereditary factor.
A sign of pregnancy?
Dizziness before your period can be a sign of pregnancy. Dizziness before pregnancy is associated with changes in the vascular system, which cause shifts in blood volume. Decreased blood volume can cause low blood pressure, which can cause weakness and dizziness.
Dizziness due to pregnancy often accompanies other early pregnancy symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. If you have no other symptoms, your dizziness is likely due to other hormonal changes.
Take a pregnancy test on the first day of your missed period to determine whether you are pregnant or not.
What causes the drop in blood pressure?
Low blood pressure is most often noticed by women of reproductive age. Most of them perceive menstruation as a serious illness and have difficulty getting out of bed during it.
The reasons for the decline in numbers may be:
- Diseases of the genital organs - endometriosis of the uterus, polyps or benign neoplasms in the uterine cavity. They are accompanied by increased hematopoiesis, decreased hemoglobin levels and insufficient saturation of tissues with nutrients. All this reduces vitality.
- Hormonal imbalance is an abnormal ratio of estrogen and progesterone in the body. The predominance of the first hormone is dangerous for a woman who has reduced glucose production, dilated blood vessels and low blood pressure.
- Algodysmenorrhea, which occurs against the background of increased pain sensitivity and an excess of hormone-like substances - prostaglandins. As well as the excessive use of painkillers against it, which dilate blood vessels.
- Poor nutrition and vitamin deficiency, leading to the development of hormonal disorders and sexual dysfunction. As well as a lack of red blood cells and, as a result, a decrease in vascular tone.
Characteristic symptoms of manifestation
Pressure surges are often accompanied by such phenomena as:
- Headache;
- Pain in the lower abdomen;
- Nausea;
- Chest pain;
- Insomnia;
- Apathy;
- Weakness;
- Mood swings;
- Increased sweating;
- Loss of appetite.
When the symptoms are severe and affect the quality of life, the help of a specialist is necessary. With low blood pressure, pain can be relieved with analgesics, and with high blood pressure, with antispasmodics.
Vessels after menstruation
When the “red” days pass, the woman’s well-being improves significantly. However, even after this, high or low blood pressure may persist for several days.
If this phenomenon occurs after the cessation of menstruation, for a fairly long period of time, then the woman should consult a doctor as soon as possible.
Otherwise, there is a risk of serious abnormalities in the cardiovascular system.
For high blood pressure
The occurrence of high blood pressure after menstruation is due to the fact that after the end of the menstrual cycle, the woman’s reproductive system still depends on hormones, and reproductive processes in the body continue.
Progesterone creates a new layer of the uterine mucosa and actively participates in the formation of new blood vessels, increases blood flow in them and quickly leads to a change in blood pressure to higher levels.
At low pressure
A decrease in indicators is observed after menstruation no less often than an increase. The reason for this is also the cyclical processes occurring in a woman’s body. The norm is considered to be the time interval in which it is observed, lasting 2-3 days.
Types of headaches during menstruation
The female body is a very complex mechanism, the work of which has not yet been fully studied. For example, scientists do not give a clear answer to the causes of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), from which many girls suffer. And although the concept of PMS includes a wide range of different symptoms, most often three out of four women of childbearing age during this period complain of headaches.
Sometimes it is very difficult to distinguish menstrual headaches from “regular” ones. Conventionally, they can all be divided into two types:
- tension headaches;
- migraine.
The cause of tension pain is various stressful situations, overwork, lack of sleep. This type is characterized by a bilateral pressure manifestation, which may be accompanied by nausea, sensitivity to loud noises and bright lights. Such pain most often does not pose a big problem, since it is usually easily relieved with special medications.
But with the second type of headache, everything is much more complicated. Migraine is most often a hereditary disease. It is characterized by attacks of throbbing pain of varying intensity (from moderate to severe), which can be intensified under the influence of many factors (bright light, loud sounds, physical or mental stress). It can be either unilateral (pain is concentrated in one part of the head) or bilateral (both halves hurt). In some cases, pulsating attacks can turn into cutting or pressing sensations. Often this manifestation is accompanied by severe nausea (including vomiting), eye pain, and changes in blood pressure (hypotension or hypertension). Menstrual migraine belongs to this type.
Treatment
Incorrect pressure must be corrected. In case of painful critical days, it is better to try not to get out of bed unnecessarily. These changes may make you feel dizzy, very drowsy, or even lose consciousness.
Drug treatment
If blood pressure rises during menstruation, it is worth taking medications aimed at relieving pain caused by spasms, as well as dilation of blood vessels. These include: “No-shpa”, “Trigan” or “Papaverine”. It is best to consult your doctor before using these medications. This will avoid side effects.
If the pressure, on the contrary, decreases, then instead of antispasmodics you should take painkillers. Medicines from this group help normalize blood pressure. These include: Coldrex, Analgin, Paracetamol, Theraflu, etc.
Traditional methods
To normalize blood pressure, you can use traditional methods that are no less effective than popular drugs.
An empty glass of mineral water with lemon juice and a teaspoon of honey every day for a week or ready-made cranberry infusion can be used to normalize blood pressure. To prepare the latter, you will need 100 g of sugar and 2 cups of cranberries. These ingredients should be poured with a small amount of water, boiled, then cooled and taken one glass before meals, depending on your needs.
If you have low blood pressure, you can brew St. John's wort or ginger tea.
St. John's wort infusion recipe
Pour a tablespoon of dried St. John's wort into a glass of boiled water, leave for half an hour, and then filter thoroughly. Take 1/4 cup daily before meals as needed.
Ginger tea recipe
Brew tea with sugar. Add half a teaspoon of chopped ginger to the finished drink. Drink three times a day for a week. Do not exceed the indicated dose!
Therapy methods
Consultation with a specialist is necessary if pressure drops during menstruation have not previously been observed. A sudden change in condition may be a symptom of pathology. It is especially dangerous for health if poor health persists even after the end of the critical days.
Medication
If blood pressure drops during menstruation, pain should be treated not with antispasmodics, but with analgesics, so as not to aggravate the situation. We can recommend such remedies as: paracetamol, analgin, Coldrex, Theraflu. When blood pressure increases, to relieve pain it is better to take antispasmodics, for example, no-shpu, papaverine, trigan. Before using any of these remedies, it is advisable to first consult with your doctor.
Papaverine - a drug for the treatment of low blood pressure during menstruation
Traditional methods
You can relieve unpleasant symptoms as a temporary measure or permanently, if they are not caused by any pathologies, using various folk remedies.
Coffee
For example, a cup of strong natural black sweet coffee will bring the blood pressure back to normal quite quickly. Usually the condition returns to normal just 15 minutes after drinking a cup. Sugar and caffeine both increase blood pressure, so unsweetened coffee can be made even stronger. But it is important to remember that too much coffee is harmful to the body.
Tea
Another way to raise blood pressure is to drink a cup of strong black tea with sugar. Instead of tea and coffee, Coca-Cola is suitable, as it also contains caffeine.
Chocolate
A bar of natural dark chocolate will also help with hypotension, since this product contains cocoa, which increases blood pressure. However, you shouldn’t get too carried away with this method, since eating a lot of sweets is harmful.
Salty food
A piece of herring or sauerkraut or bread with salted butter, due to its saltiness, can also raise blood pressure. But this option won't work for everyone.
Ginseng root tincture
A tablespoon of root is filled with 5 tablespoons of alcohol. The mixture is infused for 10 days. After this, the drug is taken daily on an empty stomach.
carrot juice
Freshly squeezed vegetable juice will also raise your blood pressure. But we must take into account that the body should be accustomed to such juices gradually, otherwise stomach problems may arise. It is enough to drink just a glass of fresh juice a day for low blood pressure to return to normal and no longer bother you.
Prevention
To eliminate the pressure from the future, follow the diet, nutrition and use preventive measures accordingly:
- reduce the amount of salt and sugar in your daily diet;
- Limiting the strength of training, preferring equally effective exercises for women: Pilates, yoga or breathing exercises;
- Replace coffee drinks with herbal infusions;
- Quit smoking and drinking alcohol.
Don't forget that every woman's body is a separate system. They must be carefully analyzed to find out how to overcome pressure surges or avoid them. If necessary, please contact specialists.
Preventive measures
According to statistics, more than 80% of women suffer from PMS. However, only those whose unpleasant symptoms appear continuously over a long period of time need specialized help. If symptoms appear rarely or are not sufficiently pronounced, then you can limit yourself to preventive measures:
- Avoid coffee; during menstruation, it is better to replace this drink with herbal tea;
- Reduce the amount of table salt in your diet. It is permissible to consume no more than 5 g per day. It is better to salt food not during cooking, but directly on the plate. And season salads not with mayonnaise, but with lemon juice. The consumption of sweets and fried foods should also be limited;
- Moderate physical activity will also have a beneficial effect on the general condition of the body. But the main thing here is not to overdo it; classes such as yoga, Pilates, breathing exercises are suitable.
Preventive measures for low blood pressure include avoiding coffee.
It is also important to monitor your diet; it must be correct and balanced. In addition, there should be no long breaks between meals. If you have headaches before your period, you should avoid drinking alcohol during this period. It is also important to maintain a sleep-wake schedule and, if possible, not expose the body to stress.
If you follow all the above tips, then within a month you can notice significant improvements in the condition of your own body.
