Naturally cycling females exhibited significantly higher resting heart rate amplitude (2.73 bpm) across the menstrual cycle compared to those using hormonal birth control pills (0.28 bpm).
Observational (n=11,590)
Do resting heart rate and heart rate variability fluctuate across the menstrual cycle, and are these fluctuations affected by age, BMI, and birth control use in adult females?
Wearable-derived cardiovascular metrics (RHR and RMSSD) show predictable fluctuations across the menstrual cycle that are significantly attenuated by age and hormonal birth control use, offering a potential non-invasive method to monitor female hormonal health.
Absolute Event Rate: 2.73% vs 0.28%
p-value: p=<0.001
Abstract Currently, knowledge of changes in cardiovascular function across the menstrual cycle and how these changes may inform upon underlying health is limited. Utilizing wrist-worn biometric data we developed a novel measure to quantify and investigate the cardiovascular fluctuation (i.e. cardiovascular amplitude) within resting heart rate (RHR) and heart rate variability (RMSSD) across 11,590 participants and 45,811 menstrual cycles. Within participants, RHR and RMSSD fluctuated in a regular pattern throughout the menstrual cycle, with population RHR min and RMSSD max at cycle day 5, RHR max at day 26, and RMSSD min at day 27. Cardiovascular amplitude was attenuated ( p < 0.05) in older participants and participants using birth control, suggesting the novel metric may mirror differences in hormonal fluctuations in these cohorts. Longitudinal tracking of cardiovascular amplitude may offer accessible non-invasive monitoring of female physiology and underlying health across the menstrual cycle.
Jasinski et al. (2024) conducted an observational in Menstrual cycle (n=11,590). Naturally cycling vs. Hormonal birth control pills was evaluated on Resting heart rate cardiovascular amplitude (RHRamp) (p=<0.001). Naturally cycling females exhibited significantly higher resting heart rate amplitude (2.73 bpm) across the menstrual cycle compared to those using hormonal birth control pills (0.28 bpm).