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TIRED OF OVERHEATING?

Hot flashes? Night sweats? Called vasomotor symptoms (VMS) due to menopause, they may be a reason to talk to your doctor!

Woman laughing
Woman smiling with dog
THE HOT FLASHES AND NIGHT SWEATS YOU’RE EXPERIENCING ARE CALLED VMS, OR VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS, DUE TO MENOPAUSE

THE HOT FLASHES AND NIGHT SWEATS YOU’RE EXPERIENCING ARE CALLED VMS, OR VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS

  • Hot flashes are sudden and intense sensations of heat in your face, neck, and chest, and may be accompanied by sweating, reddening of the skin, chills and rapid heartbeat
  • Night sweats are hot flashes that happen at night

BE HEARD – HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT HOT FLASHES AND NIGHT SWEATS (ALSO CALLED VMS).

CAN HOT FLASHES AND NIGHT SWEATS RANGE IN SEVERITY?

Yes, hot flashes and night sweats can vary in their severity and disruptive impact.

A scale featuring three menopausal women demonstrating the three degrees of severity of hot flashes and night sweats.
Definitions of mild, moderate, and severe VMS

HOW LONG WILL YOUR HOT FLASHES AND NIGHT SWEATS LAST?

For most women, frequent* hot flashes and night sweats associated with menopause can last more than 7 years. In some cases, though, they may last longer than 10 years.

* For some women, VMS can persist for up to 6 days or more within a 2-week period.

THE HISTORY AND SCIENCE OF HOT FLASHES AND NIGHT SWEATS

WHAT’S CAUSING YOUR HOT FLASHES?

The hypothalumus highlighted in brain

VMS originate in a part of your brain called the hypothalamus, which regulates your body's temperature. It’s here that specific neurons called KNDy neurons play an important role in temperature control.

Your internal thermostat

To keep your internal thermostat in check, your body relies on having a balance between estrogen and a brain chemical called neurokinin B, or NKB.

Unbalanced estrogen and NKB levels

During menopause, levels of estrogen and NKB become unbalanced.

A look at a KNDy neuron

This causes the KNDy neurons in your hypothalamus to tell your body you're hot when you're not.

The hypothalumus glowing in brain

To cool down, your hypothalamus triggers hot flashes and night sweats.

Woman in bed looking up and smiling

LEARN WHAT CAUSES VMS

References:

  1. Monteleone P, Mascagni G, Giannini A, Genazzani AR, Simoncini T. Symptoms of menopause - global prevalence, physiology and implications. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2018;14(4):199-215.
  2. Thurston RC. Vasomotor symptoms. In: Crandall CJ, Bachman GA, Faubion SS, et al., eds. Menopause Practice: A Clinician's Guide. 6th ed. Pepper Pike, OH: North American Menopause Society, 2019;43-55.
  3. Avis NE, Crawford SL, Greendale G, et al. Duration of menopausal vasomotor symptoms over the menopause transition. JAMA Intern Med 2015;175(4):531-539.
  4. Food and Drug Administration. Guidance for Industry: Estrogen and Estrogen/Progestin Drug Products to Treat Vasomotor Symptoms and Vulvar and Vaginal Atrophy Symptoms — Recommendations for Clinical Evaluation. January 2003.
  5. Todorova L, Bonassi R, Guerrero C, et al. Prevalence and impact of vasomotor symptoms due to menopause among women in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Nordic Europe: a cross-sectional survey. Menopause. 2023;30(12):1179-1189. 
  6. Yuksel N, Evaniuk D, Huang L, et al. Guideline No. 422a: Menopause: vasomotor symptoms, prescription therapeutic agents, complementary and alternative medicine, nutrition, and lifestyle. J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2021 Oct;43(10):1188-1204.e1.
  7. Padilla SL, Johnson CW, Barker FD, Patterson MA, Palmiter RD. A neural circuit underlying the generation of hot flushes. Cell Rep. 2018;24(2):271-7.
  8. Rapkin AJ. Vasomotor symptoms in menopause: physiologic condition and central nervous system approaches to treatment. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2007;196(2):97-106.
  9. Modi M, Dhillo WS. Neurokinin 3 receptor antagonism: a novel treatment for menopausal hot flushes. Neuroendocrinology. 2019;109(3):242-8.
  10. Krajewski-Hall SJ, Blackmore EM, McMinn JR, Rance NE. Estradiol alters body temperature regulation in the female mouse. Temperature. 2018;5(1):56-69.
  11. Wakabayashi Y, Nakada T, Murata K, et al. Neurokinin B and dynorphin A in kisspeptin neurons of the arcuate nucleus participate in generation of periodic oscillation of neural activity driving pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion in the goat. J Neurosci. 2010;30(8):3124-32.
  12. Krajewski-Hall SJ, Miranda Dos Santos F, McMullen NT, Blackmore EM, Rance NE. Glutamatergic neurokinin 3 receptor neurons in the median preoptic nucleus modulate heat-defense pathways in female mice. Endocrinology. 2019;160(4):803-16.