L6 Autonomic Dysfunction Flashcards
Dysautonomia
- medical condition in which there are dysfunction of any of the body systems under control of ANS
- PT can be the first one to see them and recognize the patterns
- exercise based care is critical part ot tx
Sympathetic ganglia
distribute throughout throacic spine, have long post ganglionic neurons closely located near ganglia
NORE is used as hormone
Parasympathetic ganglia
distributed in cranial and sacral nerve ganglia and have short post ganglionic neurons traveling to effector organs
ACH hormone is used, acting on muscarininc receptors
Preganglionic Neurons in Sympathetic
- located in intermediolateral cell column in lamina 7 of spinal cord levels T1-L3. Short length
- two sets of ganglia, paired paravertebral. form a chain called sympathetic trunk running from cervical to sacral. allows efferents to reach different parts of body besides exiting points
- Unpaired prevertebral ganglia located in celiac plexus surrounding aorta
Postganglionic Neurons in Sympathetic
- long distance to travel to reach effector organs
- predominantly releases NE onto end organs
Parasympathetic preganglionic neurons
- travel a long distance to reach terminal ganglia located within or near effector organs
- arise from cranial nerve parasympathetic nuclei and from sacral parasympathetic nuclei located in gray matter of S2-S4
Parasympathetic post ganglionic neurons
- release acetylcholine, activating muscarinic cholinergic receptors on end organs
Dysautonomia is an
umbrella term
Primary vs secondary dysautonomia
- primary = result of primary disease process
- secondary = occurs as consequence of non-autonomic disease process
POTS Prevalence
Prior to COVID = 1-3 million people in US, more females (4:1), avg onset was 14 yo. Most reported a viral infection beforehand
After COVID = men are reporting POTS as consequence of long COVID. 2-14% of long covid will develop POTS
Common comorbidities of POTS
- EHD
- migraines (up to 40% of pts)
- mast cell activation syndrome
- autoimmune disorders
Possible triggers of POTS
- viral infection
- physical injury/trauma like mTBI
Long COVID
describes heterogeneous s/s experienced after acute COVID-19 infection that perssit more than 12 weeks after infection
Common s/s of Long COVID
- fatigue
- dyspnea
- cardiac abnormalities
- cognitive and attention impairments
- sleep disturbances
- muscle pain
- headache
- GI impairments
Long COVID RF
- older age
- female
- pre-exisiting comorbidities like autoimmune conditions
- severity of infection
- number of covid infections
Orthostatic s/s of POTS
- high heart rate with positional changes
- low BP
- dizziness
- increased sweating
- SOB
- chest pain
- heart palpitations
- syncope
Non-orthostatic S/S POTS
- GI s/s
- urinary urgency
- fatigue
- anxiety
- poor sleep
- brain fog
- raynaud’s
- hives
- headache
Why do people develop POTS
- abnormal hypovolemia
- cardiovascular deconditioning and low stroke volume
- ecxcessive central sympathetic activation
- increased inflammation
- impacted peripheral vasculature, blood pooling
- prevention of normal constriction of peripheral capi beds
- hypermobility of peripheral blood vessels
Neuropathic POTS
- partial autonomic neuropathy
- decreased sympathetic activity in LE venous systems, leads to blood pooling
- decreased NORE, leading to decreased constriction