Menopause Can Trigger High Blood Pressure

Do you know anyone that was diagnosed with high blood pressure around the time that they started menopause?

Is There a Link Between Menopause and High Blood Pressure?

Yes there is! One of the symptoms of menopause can be high blood pressure. Sometimes blood pressure can be fine until menopause. Then, pressure starts creeping up, with patients becoming hypertensive. There are a couple of factors at play here. This information is from Dr. Stephen Sinatra, a renowned cardiologist.

Hormonal Changes Affect Blood Pressure:

As estrogen levels fall off in menopause, blood pressure levels can rise from hormonal influence as well as from the symptoms of menopause including hot flashes, headache, insomnia, etc., caused by the overstimulation of the autonomic nervous system. Dr. Sinatra has seen synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) cause hypertension in some women.

Symptoms of Menopause Can Cause Weight Gain:

In addition, women can have trouble with weight gain when menopausal hormone swings kick in and weight gain is a very important factor in managing blood pressure. Women must be mindful of maintaining an active lifestyle during and after menopause, even though they may not have had trouble with weight gain before.

You may want to read Dr. Sinatra’s book, Heart Sense for Women (LifeLine Press, 2000). There’s an entire chapter on HRT. Dr. Sinatra says that should you decide to try HRT due to your blood pressure concerns, be sure that you find a physician who can go the natural, bio-identical hormone route with you. He goes on to say that if it doesn’t suit you, or it doesn’t help after a while, you can always work with your doctor to tweak your program, or discontinue it.

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