August 17, 2016 – Blood Pressure Medicine and Hot Flashes

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Anchor lead: Can a high blood pressure medicine work for hot flashes? Elizabeth Tracey reports

High blood pressure and more severe hot flashes may be related, a recent study found. Wen Shen, a menopause medicine expert at Johns Hopkins, says while this study hasn’t proven a clear connection, the medicine clonidine demonstrated some provocative results.

Shen: One of the interesting aspects of this paper is that one of the non-hormonal medications that is often prescribed for women with severe hot flashes is clonidine, which is an anti-hypertensive.  There is something in the relationship there that an antihypertensive for some women seems to help with hot flashes but it is definitely not one of the most effective medications for hot flashes.   :32

Shen says hormone therapy is usually best for managing hot flashes and should be taken for the duration of menopause, which may be up to ten years. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.