What is Raynaud’s?
When we are exposed to the cold blood vessels become narrower. When someone has Raynaud's, the narrowing of the blood vessels is more extreme.
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General Questions
Raynaud’s is pronounced ‘Ray-nodes’. The condition is named after the French physician Maurice Raynaud.
SRUK ran a poll to ask the community how they pronounce it. The majority of supporters pronounce is ‘Ray-nodes’ but other common ways include ‘Ray-nards’ or ‘Ray-nose’.
Primary Raynaud’s is more common in young women and girls, although both forms of the condition can affect men, women and children of any age.
Primary Raynaud’s is very common, but if you are concerned you might have secondary Raynaud’s then it is best to get it checked out by speaking to your GP. Particularly if it is severe and causing problems on a day-to-day basis, if there are other symptoms, things suddenly get worse, your thumb is affected, or you have suddenly developed Raynaud’s past the age of 30, you should ask the GP for an antinuclear antibody test or for a referral to a rheumatologist.
We do not really know. The current opinion is probably not. Raynaud’s is seen as a problem that comes and goes, but eventually the blood flow comes back.
We are not aware of any link between blood pressure and Raynaud’s. Low blood pressure can be a problem because the treatments we tend to use are usually given for high blood pressure, and other drugs can also reduce blood pressure, such as Iloprost. On the other hand, people being treated for high blood pressure may benefit, because many treatments are also used for Raynaud’s. It is important to talk to GPs and select the best drug that covers all the bases.
Women's health
It is widely acknowledged that women are more likely to be affected by Raynaud’s than men, as reflected by the stark contrast between the diagnosis rates of the two genders, which is currently at one reported case in men for every four cases in women. Whilst this is well established, there is weaker understanding of why exactly this is the case.
A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Shizuoka in Japan, entitled ‘ G-protein coupled oestrogen receptor-mediated non-genomic facilitatory effect of oestrogen on cooling-induced reduction of skin blood flow in mice‘, examined the relationship between blood-flow and hormones in mice. From the results, the team proposed that the hormone oestrogen may in part be responsible for the development of Raynaud’s, as the mice treated with the highest concentration of this hormone experienced the greatest reduction in blood flow because of increased sensitivity to cold temperatures in their extremities.
Oestrogen is a naturally occurring hormone that is generally produced at higher levels in women than in men. Oestrogen levels are increased at the onset of puberty and facilitate the development of secondary sex characteristics specific to females, and the hormone has a central role in the regulation of the menstrual cycle.
Despite research such as this implying the potential role of oestrogen in the development of Raynaud’s in young women, it is important to note that there is a lack of studies investigating the causal effect of oestrogen on Raynaud’s. Much more work therefore needs to be invested into evaluating whether it is solely a higher concentration of oestrogen in female bodies increasing the rates of Raynaud’s diagnosis in women compared to men.
It is quite common for Raynaud’s symptoms to vary with the menstrual cycle, and this probably reflects the impact of female hormones like oestrogen on blood vessel function. At certain times in the cycle there may be more symptoms.
For primary Raynaud’s, some population-based studies have found those who take the oral contraceptive pill are more likely to develop Raynaud’s, and this will likely be the direct effect of the oestrogen within the pill affecting the blood vessel size and function, so that may be a reason to consider a non-oestrogen containing hormonal contraception or other forms of contraception.
In terms of secondary Raynaud’s, its exceptionally rare – there is an underlying autoimmune rheumatic disease that can make the blood more sticky and this is something we worry about with the oral contraceptive pill so if you’ve had clots in the lungs or leg and you’re on the pill, almost certainly your GP will be considering taking you off that anyway, but there are some medical conditions which can make the blood more sticky and being on the pill can aggravate that.
COVID-19
All of the approved COVID-19 vaccines in UK have gone through rigorous testing and are generally safe and very effective. However, all vaccines stimulate the immune system and can very rarely cause serious side effects. There is no specific association between any of the COVID-19 vaccines and the development of Raynaud’s Phenomenon.
