Heavy menstrual bleeding: diagnosis and management

摘要

Menorrhagia, also known as heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), is widely accepted as the loss of menstrua! blood of a60-80ml per cycle, compared with 30-40ml for the average woman with 'normal' periods. Menstrual blood volume is impractical to measure; therefore, it is usual to make an assessment based on information from the patient. Women with HMB may describe having to use both tampons and sanitary towels, having to frequently change sanitary towels, and/or the presence of large menstrual clots. These can negatively impact activities of daily living (e.g. avoiding playing sports or going out). The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) defines HMB more holistically as "excessive blood loss that interferes with the woman's physical, emotional, social and material quality of life".