9 Facts About Dysautonomia
From this fact sheet by Dysautonomia International...
Dysautonomia is pronounced dis’-oughta-know’-me-uh. Dysautonomia is a group of neurological conditions that impact over 70 million people around the world.
Dysautonomia means “dysfunction” of the “autonomic nervous system.” The autonomic nervous system controls all of your involuntary bodily functions like your heart rate, breathing, maintaining proper blood pressure, digestion, sleep cycles, body temperature control, sweating and more.
There are many different types of dysautonomia, including, but not limited to, neurocardiogenic syncope, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, inappropriate sinus tachycardia, orthostatic hypotension, autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, pure autonomic failure, and multiple system atrophy.
Dysautonomia can also occur secondary to other diseases. Diseases that commonly cause autonomic nervous system dysfunction include all types of diabetes, Sjögren’s syndrome, celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s.
Due to the malfunctioning of the autonomic nervous system in people with dysautonomia, symptoms can include tachycardia (a heart rate that is too fast), bradycardia (a heart rate that is too slow), poor blood flow to the heart, brain and other organs, chest pains, lightheadedness, fainting, nausea, a gastrointestinal tract that moves too fast or too slow, blood pooling in the extremities, shaking, too much or too little sweating, cognitive impairments (“brain fog”), headches, and much more.
Some, but not all, dysautonomia symptoms can be minimized by laying the patient down. This helps restore normal blood flow to the brain and chest area. This is why it can be so difficult for dysautonomia patients to stand sometimes.
Dysautonomia comes with a wide range of disability – from mild, to very disabling, to death in rare cases. While some dysautonomia patients can continue with work, school and social activities, many cannot, even with the best treatment currently available.
Some dysautonomia patients will get better over time, by either learning to manage their symptoms better, or by actually recovering from the illness. However, some remain sick with dysautonomia indefinitely, and some progressively get worse.
Many dysautonomia patients experience years of diagnostic delay, and have difficulty finding physicians to treat their dysautonomia once they are diagnosed, because most doctors have not received training on how to diagnose and treat autonomic nervous system disorders.
(this fact sheet is also archived here)
