Overview

Amenorrhea is when you don’t get your menstrual period. There are two kinds of amenorrhea: primary and secondary. Primary amenorrhea is when a person older than 15 has never gotten their first period. Secondary amenorrhea happens when a person doesn’t get a period for more than three months.

How does menstruation work?

A complex system of hormones controls your menstrual cycle. Every cycle, these hormones prepare your uterus for a possible pregnancy. If there’s no pregnancy that cycle, you shed your uterine lining. That shedding is your period. There are many factors that can affect your period including issues with the following organs and structures:

  • Hypothalamus: Controls your pituitary gland, which affects ovulation (releasing an egg).
  • Ovaries: Store and produce the egg for ovulation and the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
  • Uterus: Responds to the hormones by thickening your uterine lining. This lining sheds as your menstrual period if there’s no pregnancy.

What are the types of amenorrhea?

Primary amenorrhea

Primary amenorrhea is when you haven’t gotten your first period by age 15 or within five years of the first signs of puberty (such as developing breasts). It’s usually due to genetic conditions (conditions you’re born with) or acquired abnormalities (conditions that develop after birth).

Secondary amenorrhea

Secondary amenorrhea is when you’ve been getting regular periods, but you stop getting your period for at least three months, or your period stops for six months when they were previously irregular. Common reasons for this type of amenorrhea include:

  • Pregnancy.
  • Lactation.
  • Stress.
  • Having a chronic illness.

How common is amenorrhea?

About 1 in 4 women and people assigned female at birth who aren’t pregnant, breastfeeding or going through menopause experience amenorrhea at some point in their lives.

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Symptoms

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Complications

Blood clots are a dangerous complication of atrial fibrillation (AFib). Blood clots can lead to stroke.
The risk of stroke from AFib increases as you grow older. Other health conditions also may increase the risk of a stroke due to AFib. These conditions include:
  • High blood pressure.
  • Diabetes.
  • Heart failure.
  • Some types of heart valve disease.
Blood thinners are commonly prescribed to prevent blood clots and strokes in people with atrial fibrillation.

Prevention

Healthy lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of heart disease and may prevent atrial fibrillation (AFib). Here are some basic heart-healthy tips:
  • Control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
  • Don't smoke or use tobacco.
  • Eat a diet that's low in salt and saturated fat.
  • Exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week unless your health care team says not to.
  • Get good sleep. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours daily.
  • Maintain a healthy weight.
  • Reduce and manage stress.


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