ANS-related Disorders (Nursing)

00:01 So we will conclude this lecture by discussing two disorders that affect the blood vessels due to a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system.

00:10 The first of those disorders is autonomic dysreflexia.

00:15 In this life-threatening disorder, there is a sudden onset of excessively high blood pressure due to an injury to the spinal cord at T6 or above.

00:29 A second disorder which is less life-threatening and can be controlled just with mitigating circumstances is Raynaud phenomenon, also known as Raynaud's syndrome.

00:43 In this syndrome, spasms or vasoconstriction of the arteries lead to a decrease in the blood flow to the extremities such as the fingers and the toes, and sometimes even the lips.

00:56 This decrease in blood flow causes the fingers and toes to feel numb or very cold.

01:03 This is usually triggered by either a change in temperature or extreme stress.