Association of Vasomotor Symptoms and Cardiac Autonomic Functions in Perimenopausal Women

Women going through the menopause transition frequently have vasomotor symptoms (VMS), which have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

This study aims to explore the association of VMS with cardiac autonomic functions in perimenopausal women, a group with increased cardiovascular risk.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 perimenopausal women aged 40-50 years. Women with a history of any chronic illness, hormone replacement therapy, smoking, alcohol use, medication use and surgical removal of the uterus or ovaries were excluded. Their age, body mass index, and blood pressure were recorded. Data on the complete history of VMS, clinical history, medications, menstrual history, and exercise habits were collected using a self-reported questionnaire. Cardiac autonomic function was evaluated using heart rate variability (HRV), heart rate response to standing and deep breathing, and Valsalva ratio. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21 IBM software, and correlation and regression analyses were applied for statistical evaluation.

The participants' average age was 43.31 ± 4.10 years. VMS included mood swings, night sweats, sleep disturbances, and hot flashes. Women experiencing night sweats had significantly lower levels of low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) components of HRV (P = 0.043, 0.005), whereas those experiencing hot flushes exhibited significantly higher LF/HF Ratio (P = 0.002).

The study concluded that both night sweats and hot flushes were associated with autonomic imbalance, reflected by reduced parasympathetic activity. However, no significant correlation was found between frequency or duration of VMS with autonomic functions. These findings suggest that night sweats and hot flushes were associated with altered cardiac autonomic functions in perimenopausal women.