Claim: Period cramps can hurt as much as a heart attack.

Question

Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/drboxerwachler/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Answer 1

The original claim that "Period cramps can hurt as much as a heart attack." can be attributed to a statement made by Dr. John Guillebaud, a licensed doctor and professor of reproductive health. He originally spoke to Quartz, a business oriented news organization, about period pain and other aspects concerning reproductive knowledge.

Firstly, the claim is somewhat wrong as Guillebaud originally said that, "...patients have described the cramping pain as "almost as bad as having a heart attack.".

Guillebaud did not say that the pain was AS BAD as a heart attack, but close to it. 

The actual claim about the level of pain experienced from period cramps being comparable to a heart attack is true, but there is not a whole lot of evidence other than personal feeling to support this. 

To begin, the author speaks from her personal experience with period pain, saying that, "Every month I spent hours lying on the floor, unable to move, and literally crying out in agony. My hip and back muscles went into spasm, so that my body was twisted in an S-shape contortion whenever I stood—a condition that didn’t disappear when my bleeding ceased, but had to be treated with visits to a physiotherapist every four weeks." She also describes how friends and family had similar, yet diverse experiences with period pain of different levels.

Based on the fact that the author and many friends have felt such immense pain, there is some truth to the claim, but there is a problem in proving it. 

As discussed within the article, there has been little research done on the causes of such immense pain and there are still a lot of questions surrounding the issue. 

While doctors currently know that "There are two main causes of period pain: Primary dysmenorrhea and endometriosis.", they do not know a lot more than that. There are a lot of statements within the article discussing the unknowns of period pain. It's stated that "...the medical reasons for primary dysmenorrhea are largely unknown." and that "The specifics of why some people suffer more than others is not well understood." 

In conclusion, it is true that the pain of period cramps can reach unbelievable levels reaching up to the pain of a heart attack due to the fact that there are many personal accounts of such pain, but the scientific explanation is lacking due to a lack of research into the subject. 

Article: https://qz.com/611774/period-pain-can-be-as-bad-as-a-heart-attack-so-why-arent-we-researching-how-to-treat-it

Comments

Your answer is very well-worded and thorough in response to this claim. Though I am not sure how credible your source is, it does give quite a bit of information for this claim. Overall, I like your response and find that it gives a good amount of information to understand your point in your answer.

Answer 2

This is a true statement.

The claim that "period cramps hurt as bad as a heart attack" was made by University College London reproductive health professor John Guillebaud in 2016.

Much of this comes from patient's personal feelings, and is hard to scientifically prove, but that doesn't invalidate it. Many women have debilitating pain during their periods, in an article by Global Citizen, it is stated that 20% of women have dysmenorrhea painful enough to disrupt daily life.

Original article: https://qz.com/611774/period-pain-can-be-as-bad-as-a-heart-attack-so-why-arent-we-researching-how-to-treat-it

Supplemental article: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/menstruation-pain-periods-heart-attack-women-know/

Answer 3

I think period cramps can definitely hurt as much as a heart attack. However, I think this is because there's other factors that come into play. 

First of all, this article references Dr. John Guillebaud, who says "Menstrual cramps — technically called dysmenorrhea — can cause pain that’s 'almost as bad as having a heart attack.'" So, while according to him, it may be almost as bad as a heart attack, which is still an extreme amount of pain. 

Secondly, the article says that there'a a varity of factors that can increase pain, such as "Started period before age 11, Periods are heavy, Overweight or obese, Smokes cigarettes or drinks alcohol, Has never been pregnant." 

I think a big reason why this idea may seem like misinformation is that some people think everyone's period pain is equivalent to a heart attack, which isn't true. Some people have extreme pain, and some have no pain.

https://www.simplemost.com/menstrual-cramps-almost-bad-heart-attack-doctor-says/#:~:text=Menstrual%20cramps%20%E2%80%94%20technically%20called%20dysmenorrhea%20%E2%80%94%20can,College%20London%2C%20who%20made%20the%20comparison%20to%20Quartz.

Answer 4

The claim that period cramps can hurt as much as a heart attack has been proven true by doctors. John Guillebaud, a professor of reproductive health at the University College London, told Quartz, that some patients had told him their cramping has reached the pain of what a heart attack would feel like. The open dialogue surrounding periods has been a groundbreaking improvement as doctors usually don't take this pain level as seriously as men's health. John Guillebaud has helped break some of the stigmas around periods and has also proven that women aren't being hysterical when they mention the pain that comes from menstruating.

URL:https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/articles/a41956/doctors-rule-menstrual-cramps-as-painful-as-heart-attacks/

Answer 5

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/menstruation-pain-periods-heart-attack-women-know/

Although it varies across women, pain from a period can range up to a heart attack, or even labor this excerpt shows from accounts of women who have periods. The article also prompted a column in Marie Claire, which acknowledged the doctor for accurately depicting dysmenorrhea — the clinical term for menstrual cramps — but decried the need for a man to validate and confirm women’s experiences.

“Although we know that [period pain] can feel like you're being repeatedly punched in the stomach from the inside out, explaining this to other people (read: generally men) can feel like a lost cause,” wrote columnist George Driver. “Ignoring women's pain has been a concerning medical practice for, well, forever, with research showing that doctors generally take it less seriously than men's.”

Around the world, at least 20% of women and girls experience dysmenorrhea painful enough to disrupt their daily life and as many as 176 million women experience endometriosis, a painful affliction where tissue typically found in the uterus grows on other female reproductive organs and peels.