Generally there is no specific cure.[1] Treatment may involved addressing the underlying cause and measures to improve symptoms.[1] Low blood pressure with standing may be improved with compression stockings and a high salt diet.[4] If the bladder does not contract a urinary catheter may be required.[4] Outcomes depend on the underlying cause.[1] It occurs relatively commonly.[2] The problem become more frequent with age.[4]
The symptoms of dysautonomia, which are numerous and vary widely for each individual, are due to inefficient or unbalanced efferent signals sent via both systems. The primary symptoms in individuals with dysautonomia include
Dysautonomia may be due to inherited or degenerative neurologic diseases (primary dysautonomia)[8] or it may occur due to injury of the autonomic nervous system from an acquired disorder (secondary dysautonomia).[5][9] The most common causes of dysautonomia include
In addition to sometimes being a symptom of dysautonomia, anxiety can sometimes physically manifest symptoms resembling autonomic dysfunction.[14][15][16] A thorough investigation ruling out physiological causes is crucial, but in cases where relevant tests are performed and no causes are found or symptoms do not match any known disorders, a primary anxiety disorder is possible, but should not be presumed.[17] For such patients, the anxiety sensitivity index may have better predictivity for anxiety disorders, while the Beck anxiety inventory may misleadingly suggest anxiety for patients with dysautonomia.[18]
The autonomic nervous system is a component of the peripheral nervous system and comprises two branches: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS). The SNS controls the more active responses such as increasing heart rate and blood pressure. The PSNS slows down the heart rate and aids in digestion, for example. Symptoms typically arise from abnormal responses of either the sympathetic or parasympathetic systems based on situation or environment.[8][21]
The diagnosis of dysautonomia depends on the overall function of three autonomic functions – cardiovagal, adrenergic, and sudomotor. A diagnosis should, at a bare minimum, include measurements of blood pressure and heart rate while lying flat, and after at least 3 minutes of standing. The best way to achieve a diagnosis includes a range of testing, notably an autonomic reflex screen, tilt table test, and testing of the sudomotor response (QSART or thermoregulatory sweat test).[22]
Additional tests and examinations to determine a diagnosis of dysautonomia include
Particularly in the Russian literature,[23] a subtype of dysautonomia which particularly affects the vascular system has been called vegetative-vascular dystonia.[24][25][26][27][28] The term "vegetative" reflects an older name for the autonomic nervous system: the vegetative nervous system.
The treatment of dysautonomia can be difficult; since it is made up of many different symptoms, a combination of drug therapies is often required to manage individual symptomatic complaints. Therefore, if an autoimmune neuropathy is the case, then treatment with immunomodulatory therapies is done, or if diabetes mellitus is the cause, control of blood glucose is important.[5] Treatment can include proton-pump inhibitors and H2 receptor antagonists used for digestive symptoms such as acid reflux.[29]
The prognosis of dysautonomia depends on several factors; individuals with chronic, progressive, generalized dysautonomia in the setting of central nervous system degeneration such as Parkinson's disease or multiple system atrophy have a generally poorer long-term prognosis. Consequently, dysautonomia could be fatal due to pneumonia, acute respiratory failure, or sudden cardiopulmonary arrest.[8]
Autonomic dysfunction symptoms such as orthostatic hypotension, gastroparesis, and gustatory sweating are more frequently identified in mortalities.[32]
↑De Wandele I, Rombaut L, Leybaert L, Van de Borne P, De Backer T, Malfait F, et al. (August 2014). "Dysautonomia and its underlying mechanisms in the hypermobility type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome". Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism. 44 (1): 93–100. doi:10.1016/j.semarthrit.2013.12.006. PMID24507822.
↑Information, National Center for Biotechnology; Pike, U. S. National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville; MD, Bethesda; Usa, 20894. "Autonomic Nervous System - National Library of Medicine". PubMed Health. Archived from the original on 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2016-02-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑Loganovsky K (1999). "Vegetative-Vascular Dystonia and Osteoalgetic Syndrome or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as a Characteristic After-Effect of Radioecological Disaster". Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 7 (3): 3–16. doi:10.1300/J092v07n03_02.
↑Ivanova ES, Mukharliamov FI, Razumov AN, Uianaeva AI (2008). "[State-of-the-art corrective and diagnostic technologies in medical rehabilitation of patients with vegetative vascular dystonia]". Voprosy Kurortologii, Fizioterapii, I Lechebnoi Fizicheskoi Kultury (1): 4–7. PMID18376477.
↑Malysheva OA, Shirinskiĭ VS (1998). "[Seasonal changes of secondary immunodeficiency in patients with vascular dystonia]". Klinicheskaia Meditsina. 76 (5): 34–6. PMID9644934.
↑Lobzin VS, Poliakova LA, Shiman AG, Zavodnik AI (March 1989). "[Treatment of autonomic vascular dystonia by combined physiotherapy methods]". Vrachebnoe Delo (3): 22–3. PMID2750110.
↑Solov'eva AD, Kolosova OA, Loseva MM, Mindlina GE, Ginzburg LI (1985). "[Thermography in healthy subjects and in the syndrome of vegetative-vascular dystonia]". Zhurnal Nevropatologii I Psikhiatrii Imeni S.S. Korsakova. 85 (6): 905–10. PMID4024817.
↑Isaev DN, Efremov KD (1983). "[Psychogenic factors participating in the development of vegetovascular dystonia of the hypertensive type in children]". Zhurnal Nevropatologii I Psikhiatrii Imeni S.S. Korsakova. 83 (10): 1548–52. PMID6659792.
Brading A (1999). The autonomic nervous system and its effectors. Oxford: Blackwell Science. ISBN978-0632026241.
Goldstein, David (2016). Principles of Autonomic Medicine(PDF) (free online version ed.). Bethesda, Maryland: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health. ISBN9780824704087. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2018-12-06. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
Jänig W (2008). Integrative action of the autonomic nervous system : neurobiology of homeostasis (Digitally printed version. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0521067546.
Schiffer RB, Rao SM, Fogel BS (2003-01-01). Neuropsychiatry. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN9780781726559. Archived from the original on 2021-08-27. Retrieved 2020-10-31.