---
title: Do women's heart and cardiovascular responses to stress change during the menstrual cycle?
description: Yes. Women's heart rate responses to stress were consistently stronger than men's during both cycle phases, and some heart responses in women changed between
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/hemodynamic-stress-responses-in-men-and-women-examined-as-a-function-of-female-1994/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Do women's heart and cardiovascular responses to stress change during the menstrual cycle?

Study, 1994

# Do women's heart and cardiovascular responses to stress change during the menstrual cycle?

Yes. Women's heart rate responses to stress were consistently stronger than men's during both cycle phases, and some heart responses in women changed between follicular and luteal phases.

 Moderate study design

15 men and 11 women with normal menstrual cycles

## What they did

Fifteen men and 11 women with normal menstrual cycles were tested while doing stressful tasks. Researchers measured heart rate, blood pressure, other heart measures, thinking performance, and mood. Women were tested during both the first half (follicular) and second half (luteal) of their cycle.

## What they found

Women and men did not differ in blood pressure responses to stress in either cycle phase. However, during both phases, women showed greater heart rate reactivity and tended toward greater changes in other heart measurements compared to men. Women's stroke volume responses were significantly greater in the luteal phase than the follicular phase. Men and women differed in thinking performance and mood during the tasks, but these differences were mostly not affected by the menstrual cycle.

## What it means for you

Women's heart systems respond more strongly to stress than men's, particularly in heart rate. Some of these cardiovascular responses vary across the menstrual cycle. This was a controlled study but with a small sample of only healthy women.

15

Men tested

11

Women tested during both cycle phases

## About the study

Original title Hemodynamic stress responses in men and women examined as a function of female menstrual cycle phase Authors Girdler SS, Light KC Journal International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology Year 1994 Study design Study Participants 11 What was tested Stress testing Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/0167-8760(94)90066-3](https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-8760(94)90066-3)

## Topics

[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

Cohort study, 2025

Is the stress hormone cortisol different in women with PMDD?

Survey study, 2024

Does thinking style affect mood through the menstrual cycle in people with PMDD?

Case-control study, 2023

Do emotion regulation strategies help women with PMDD manage mood and stress hormones?

Survey study, 2023

How do rumination and awareness affect mood and stress hormones during the menstrual cycle in PMDD?

Cohort study, 2022

What are PMS and PMDD and how should they be diagnosed and treated?

Lab study, 2020

Does anxiety sensitivity change during different parts of the menstrual cycle?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗