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Autonomic hyperreflexia - Symptom

Symptoms:

Symptoms can include any or all of the following:

  • Anxiety or apprehension (fear)
  • Bladder or bowel dysfunction
  • Blurry vision
  • Fainting
  • Fever
  • Flushing (skin turning red)
  • Goose bumps
  • Heavy sweating
  • Irregular heart beat
  • Lightheadedness or dizziness
  • Muscle spasm
  • Nasal congestion
  • Throbbing headache

Sometimes, despite a dangerous rise in blood pressure, there are no symptoms at all.

Signs and tests:

  • Dilated pupils
  • Flushed (red) skin above the level of the spinal cord injury
  • High blood pressure
  • Slow pulse or fast pulse

The doctor will do a complete neurological and medical examination. Patients must tell their doctor all medications they are currently taking and all medications they've taken in the past, to help determine which tests are necessary.

Tests may include:

  • Blood and urine tests
  • Brain pictures including head CT or MRI
  • EKG (measurement of the heart's electrical activity)
  • Lumbar puncture
  • Spine pictures, particularly MRI
  • Tilt-table testing (testing of blood pressure regulation as body position changes)
  • Toxicology screening (tests for any drugs, including medications, in the patient's bloodstream)
  • X-rays
  • Reviewed last on: 6/16/2010
  • David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and Daniel B. Hoch, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital.

References

Khastgir J, Drake MJ, Abrams P. Recognition and effective management of autonomic dysreflexia in spinal cord injuries. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2007;8:945-956.

Kirshblum SC, Priebe MM, Ho CH, Scelza WM, Chiodo AE, Wuermser LA. Spinal cord injury medicine: 3. Rehabilitation phase after acute spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2007;88:S62-S70.

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The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997- A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.
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