Abstract
Background: Premenstrual syndrome is associated with many physical, psychological, and behavioral changes. Premenstrual symptoms have been associated with perceived stress and perceived stress is the strongest predictor of premenstrual syndrome.

Aim and Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the premenstrual stress and cardiovascular reactivity during different phases of menstrual cycle in the age group of 18–22 years.

Materials and Methods: In this study, 60 healthy female volunteers of the age group of 18–22 years selected. The resting blood pressure (BP) and perceived stress with the help of Cohen’s perceived stress scale were recorded. The cardiovascular reactivity during different phases of menstrual cycle was recorded with the help of cold pressor test and postural challenge test.

Results: The study revealed that significant increase was observed in perceived stress, pulse rate, and resting BP, during premenstrual period as compared to postmenstrual period. BP also showed significant increase during cold pressor tests and postural challenge test during premenstrual period as compared to postmenstrual period.

Conclusions: According to this study, perceived stress and cardiovascular reactivity are highest during premenstrual phase as compared to postmenstrual phase. It may be due to the increased level of progesterone and estrogen in premenstrual phase. It is not clear how stress may contribute to increased premenstrual symptom severity, although stress-induced changes in ovarian hormone levels and neurotransmitters may be involved. This correlates to the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome which has hormonal and neural basis.

Key words: Perceived Stress; Cold Pressor Test; Postural Change Test; Premenstrual and Postmenstrual Phase