Cardiovascular Function in Different Phases of the Menstrual Cycle in Healthy Women of Reproductive Age

Abstract

Background: Sex hormones influence the cardiovascular (CV) function in women. However, it is uncertain whether their physiological variation related to the regular menstrual cycle affects the CV system. We studied changes in the hemodynamic profile and body’s water content and their relation to sex hormone concentration in healthy women during the menstrual cycle. Material and methods: Forty-five adult women were examined during the early follicular, late follicular, and mid-luteal phases of the same menstrual cycle. The hemodynamic profile was estimated non-invasively by cardiac impedance while water content was estimated by total body impedance. Results were compared with repeated measures ANOVA with post-test, if applicable. Results: There were no significant changes in most hemodynamic and water content parameters between the menstrual cycle phases in healthy women. Left ventricular ejection time differed significantly among phases of the menstrual cycle, with shorter values in the mid-luteal phase (308.4 vs. 313.52 ms, p < 0.05) compared to the late follicular phase. However, the clinical relevance of such small differences is negligible. Conclusions: Changes in sex hormones during the physiological menstrual cycle appear to have no considerable effect on healthy women’s hemodynamic function and water accumulation.

Trimethylamine N-Oxide Concentration and Blood Pressure in Young Healthy Men and Women: A Replicated Crossover Study

“…Endogenous 17-β-estradiol is considered cardioprotective in premenopausal women and since concentrations of it are higher in the MLP than the EFP, it might be expected that blood pressure would be lower in the MLP. Indeed, some work has shown that brachial blood pressure is higher at the onset of menstruation compared to in later phases in the menstrual cycle [ 29 ], but previous research has largely reported no significant differences between phases [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. In line with the latter observations, we saw no differences in brachial or central blood pressure between the EFP and MLP.…”

“…All eumenorrheic women had a regular, natural menstrual cycle (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35) days in duration, with 9 or more consecutive periods per year and evidence of a luteinising hormone (LH) surge, without the use of any hormonal contraceptives within the last 6 months) [25]. Testing was completed during two separate menstrual cycles and captured two distinct hormonal profiles: (1) the early follicular phase (EFP, days 1-4), i.e., low concentrations of 17-β-estradiol and progesterone; (2) the mid-luteal phase (MLP, the middle four days of the luteal phase, determined from the predicted cycle duration minus the day of ovulation, which was ~7-9 days after a positive urinary LH test), i.e., high concentrations of 17-β-estradiol and progesterone (Figure 1).…”