Pressure during menopause in women
During menopause, women experience not only hot flashes and weight gain, but also high blood pressure. We learn from doctors, because of what pressure rises during menopause and how to bring it back to normal

Arterial hypertension is one of the most common diseases of the cardiovascular system, which can lead to death. The risk of this disease increases with age, and in women, mainly with the onset of menopause1.

Unfortunately, many women believe that there is nothing dangerous in high blood pressure and do not take care of their health. And in vain, because it is during menopause that the risk of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases increases significantly.2. It is important to prevent pressure increases in time and treat the pathology. Our experts will tell you why blood pressure rises during menopause, how to treat it, and who is at risk.

How does blood pressure change during menopause in women?

– Before the cessation of menstruation, women often have low blood pressure. But in postmenopause, it, on the contrary, increases. It has been proven that the risks of cardiovascular complications in women begin with indicators >120 mm Hg. At the same time, women have a worse prognosis for high blood pressure than men, says Tatyana Brodovskaya, MD, an expert in cardiology and sleep medicine.

To date, arterial hypertension is considered by doctors and scientists as an “age-related” disease. An increase in blood pressure speaks of the aging processes occurring in the body – especially the heart and blood vessels.

The aging process can be physiological, as evidenced by increased blood pressure in women over the age of 65. If hypertension began at an earlier age, this is a wake-up call that the circulatory system is aging at an accelerated rate.

Vessels age prematurely for several reasons:

  • obesity, overweight;
  • polycystic ovary syndrome;
  • snoring and stopping breathing during sleep (sleep apnea);
  • diabetes and prediabetes;
  • elevated levels of “bad” cholesterol in the blood;
  • reception of oral contraceptives;
  • smoking;
  • excess uric acid in the body.

Causes of increased pressure during menopause

Before menopause, women are under the “protection” of sex hormones, so they are less likely to experience heart and vascular diseases than men. The situation changes with the advent of the climax.

The main reasons for the increase in pressure during menopause:

  1. hormone deficiency. Because of this, the walls of the vessels lose their elasticity, and the pressure begins to fluctuate. Due to the lack of estrogen, women begin to experience stress more often, become nervous and irritable.3. Hence the increased pressure;
  2. unbalanced diet, and as a result – high cholesterol in the blood. Cholesterol “plaques” accumulate on the walls of blood vessels, which impede the movement of blood;
  3. excess weight, which creates an additional load on the vessels;
  4. insomnia, sleep disorders.

Women with the following factors are at risk of developing hypertension and early aging of blood vessels and the heart:

  • early (<10 years) and late (>15 years) onset of menstruation;
  • migraine;
  • severe premenstrual syndrome;
  • birth of more than 5 children;
  • breastfeeding less than 4 months;
  • premature (<40 years) and early (<45 years) menopause;
  • pronounced “hot flashes” during menopause;
  • chronic stress;
  • swelling and increased pressure during pregnancy;
  • spontaneous abortion and stillbirth;
  • preterm delivery;
  • development of diabetes during pregnancy, eclampsia, preeclampsia;
  • psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, depression, anxiety, cancer.

Treatment of high blood pressure in menopause

According to the candidate of medical sciences, cardiologist, somnologist, therapist Ekaterina Plemyannikova, the best treatment for high blood pressure in menopause is its prevention.

– A woman should enter a new period of her life prepared. It is necessary to normalize weight, quit smoking, walk at least 10 thousand steps daily. Be sure to pay attention to your diet: minimize the consumption of fatty meat (pork, lamb), rustic dairy products, butter. It is advisable to completely exclude sausages and mayonnaise from the diet. Every day you need to eat 400 grams of vegetables and fruits (not counting potatoes).

It’s great if you have a hobby that allows you to deal with stress. It is better if it is associated with physical activity (fitness, swimming, yoga, dancing, singing, playing a musical instrument, etc.). And you also need to get enough sleep, the doctor advises.

It is also important to pass the check-up of the body, which includes:

  • ECG;
  • ECHO-KG – ultrasound of the heart;
  • ultrasound examination of the vessels of the neck;
  • blood test for lipid, glucose, uric acid levels.

If you have a burdened heredity for hypertension (that is, the next of kin had this disease), then you should not wait for its development, but consult a cardiologist. The doctor will be able to assess cardiovascular risks, if necessary, develop a plan for further examination and select an individual treatment. If non-drug treatment fails, the doctor will prescribe drugs to bring the pressure back to normal.

If there is overweight, a woman should consult an endocrinologist. Obesity, which, as a rule, accompanies hypertension, is treated with special drugs, and sometimes with surgical methods. Also, with this question, you can contact a nutritionist who will help you choose the right diet.

If you do not sleep well, make an appointment with a sleep doctor. Sleep disturbance significantly increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. So, with sleep apnea (stopping breathing during sleep during snoring), the risk of developing a heart attack and stroke increases by 5 times! An experienced sleep doctor will be able to identify the causes of breath holding and eliminate them.

Preparations

If a woman’s blood pressure rises during menopause, the doctor will select special medications. A woman can be prescribed both antihypertensive drugs and drugs that normalize hormonal levels.

Antihypertensive drugs include drugs that relax blood vessels or block the production of enzymes that can cause vascular spasm and high blood pressure.

 The second group includes drugs with analogues of female sex hormones – estrogen and progesterone. They normalize the level of hormones in the blood4. There are also drugs based on phytoestrogens – plant substances that resemble female sex hormones in their action.5. They usually do not have side effects, they affect the female body gently, and also have a beneficial effect on the state of the vessels. They also strengthen the nervous system, reduce the number of hot flashes, and fight insomnia.

– Not all drugs that reduce blood pressure help to avoid complications. For example, drugs such as papazol, andipal and some others reduce pressure, but do not prevent complications. Also, taking certain antihypertensive drugs can provoke the development of diabetes.

Therefore, with increased pressure during menopause, in no case should you self-medicate and buy any drugs without consulting a therapist or cardiologist. The doctor will review your medical history and select the appropriate medication for you.

Diet

With menopause, especially if pressure jumps, you need to adjust your diet:

  • consume less salt, which retains water in the body;
  • give up strong tea and coffee, which increase the load on the heart;
  • give preference to lean meats. Fatty foods clog blood vessels with cholesterol plaques;
  • limit the consumption of foods that contain animal fats. These include butter, lard, sausage, sausages;
  • eat 5 servings of vegetables and fruits daily;
  • give up sugar or use it as little as possible;

In no case should you starve and keep strict diets, it is important to eat a balanced diet.

Popular questions and answers

Our experts answer popular questions regarding high blood pressure in menopause: gynecologist-endocrinologist Natalya Belyaeva, candidate of medical sciences, cardiologist, somnologist, therapist Ekaterina Plemyannikova and doctor of medical sciences, expert in cardiology and somnology Tatyana Brodovskaya.

Why does pressure jump during menopause?

– Female sex hormones help maintain elasticity and normal vascular tone, protect them from harmful cholesterol. The deficiency of these hormones during menopause leads to the fact that the pressure becomes unstable – it can both increase and decrease.

Who is at risk for rising pressure during menopause?

– During menopause, the hormonal background changes, so the risk of developing hypertension increases. Almost all women during menopause may experience high blood pressure. However, the likelihood of hypertension increases if you are overweight, have a family history, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, excessive consumption of fatty meat, salt, chronic stress, and sleep disturbance.

Does diet help?

– Even Hippocrates said: “We are what we eat.” Proper nutrition, like other healthy habits, largely determines our health and well-being. Speaking of aggravated heredity, it is worth noting that only a predisposition to hypertension is inherited. And the disease will develop or not, in many respects determines our way of life.

Do folk remedies help with increased pressure during menopause?

– The key goal of treating high blood pressure is to improve the prognosis of life, that is, to increase its duration, slow down the rate of aging, and prevent complications – stroke, heart attack, arrhythmias, dementia. In the presence of high risks of complications, the treatment of hypertension with folk remedies alone is not advisable, since pressure reduction, unfortunately, does not have enough effect on vascular aging.

Alternative (non-drug) treatments for hypertension include an optimal diet with a limited content of salt and simple carbohydrates. This may also include physical activity, normal sleep, limiting the use of drugs that increase blood pressure (painkillers from the group of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, vasoconstrictors (for example, nasal drops), stimulants, oral contraceptives, certain drugs for weight loss (for example , sibutramine).However, despite the simplicity, such recommendations are often not followed.If traditional therapy is ineffective, it is recommended to consider the need for drug treatment.

Sources of:

  1. Features of arterial hypertension and daily blood pressure profile in women in the climatic period. The text of the scientific article. Anikin V.V., Izvarina O.A. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/osobennosti-arterialnoy-gipertonii-i-sutochnogo-profilya-arterialnogo-davleniya-u-zhenschin-v-klimaktericheskom-periode/viewer
  2. Features of the daily profile of blood pressure and the structural and functional state of the left ventricle in women with different genesis of menopause. The text of the scientific article. Skibitsky V.V., Medvedeva Yu.N., Shukhardina E.L. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/osobennosti-sutochnogo-profilya-arterialnogo-davleniya-i-strukturno-funktsionalnogo-sostoyaniya-levogo-zheludochka-u-zhenschin-s/viewer
  3. The effect of estrogen deficiency on the cardiovascular system of women during menopause and postmenopause. Academic research paper on health sciences. Evstropov V.S. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/vliyanie-defitsita-estrogenov-na-serdechno-sosudistuyu-sistemu-u-zhenschin-v-period-perimenopauzy-i-postmenopauzy-po-dannym-analiza
  4. Hypertension in postmenopausal women. Academic research paper on clinical medicine. Kadyrova D.A., Eshankulova G.A., Gafarov M.G. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/gipertonicheskaya-bolezn-u-zhenschin-v-postmenopause
  5.   Cimicifuga racemosa plant extract is an alternative to hormonal drugs in the treatment of estrogen deficiency conditions. Academic research paper on clinical medicine. Ledina A.V., Khamoshina M.B., Ledin E.V. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/ekstrakt-rasteniya-cimicifuga-racemosa-alternativa-hormonalnym-preparatam-v-lechenii-estrogendefitsitnyh-sostoyaniy

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