Menopause is one of the facts of life that we are all going to face at one point or another. Entering that next phase of life can be exciting and liberating for some women, but there’s also the possibility of experiencing vasomotor symptoms, also known as VMS. VMS can occur during menopause and in fact, about 80 percent of people going through menopause experience it. But to be clear, VMS is not menopause.
Hot flashes, night sweats, heart palpitations, changes in blood pressure, all of those kinds of things relating to the constriction and dilation of blood vessels are vasomotor symptoms. Hot flashes are the most common symptom and start in your body’s temperature control center, the hypothalamus. Watch more above for the complete low-down on all things hot flashes and VMS.